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'Shut Down the Border': Rep. Steube Sounds Off After Illegal Immigrant Arrested for Rape in Florida

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  February 28, 2024 4:30 PM

There has been an alarming amount of violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants as a result of President Joe Biden's wide open aorder. This includes an alleged sexual battery that took place in Charlotte County, Florida. Santo Felix Cruz-Ramos, 25, was arrested at a hotel in the west coast town of Englewood on Sunday after the victim came forward and hotel security footage showed him running from the victim's hotel room. "Cruz-Ramos was later identified to authorities by the bright yellow jacket seen in the hotel security camera footage," local news outlet WINK reported. The news earned the attention of Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), who represents the district where the incident took place.

"Every community is a border community under Joe Biden’s open border policies," Steube posted as he shared coverage from YourSun, That now includes his district's town of Englewood. "This tragic incident underscores the urgent need to address the invasion of our country through our border. Our communities deserve safety and protection, which starts with a secure border. These criminals should never be in our country to begin with," he continued.

While a write-up from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office noted that Cruz-Ramos denied he was involved, his roommates at the hotel identified him in the security video and said he was the owner of the jacket, which was also observed in his hotel room:

During questioning, the suspect denied ever speaking with the victim, following her to her room, or engaging in intercourse with anyone. When confronted with the video footage, Cruz-Ramos denied that the person in the video was him and stated that he did not even own a yellow jacket. It was at this time that he also advised that he was in the United States illegally.

The two roommates both identified Cruz-Ramos as the person in the video and confirmed that he was the owner of the yellow jacket seen in it as well. Deputies did observe the jacket in the room.

The sheriff office's write-up also noted that Cruz-Ramos "is being held at the Jail without bond and Border Patrol has been contacted regarding his status."

Steube also provided a statement for Townhall about where Republicans, and Congress as a whole, ought to go from here to do something about the issue. "House Republicans passed the strongest border security package in history, and it has been sitting in the Senate for 9 months. That bill had many provisions to prevent illegals with criminal histories from gaming our immigration system," he pointed out, referring to HR 2, the Secure the Border Act. "However, the president does not need a bill to deport illegal criminals and shut down the border – he could shut it down today if he wanted. It is also crucial that we remove Mayorkas, who enabled this entire catastrophe. The Senate should hold a full impeachment trial," he shared. 

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Earlier this month the House voted to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, with Steube voting in favor of impeachment. The effort may run into trouble in the Senate, though, not only from Democrats who control the chamber and are looking to table the measure, but some establishment Republicans as well. 

Steube's fellow Republicans, such as Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Donald Trump Jr., who lives in Florida, also weighed in about the violent crime. 

"I was the first to say that every state is a border state," Blackburn offered, as she also called for electing Donald Trump in November to "put an end to this nightmare."

Don Jr. highlighted how preventable these reported crime are. "What they all have in common is they are preventable if the border was secure!," he highlighted. 

Making the epidemic of illegal immigrant crime worse is that Democratic officials, like Mayor Kelly Girtz of Athens, Georgia, where 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, have tried to escape blame when it comes to the role their sanctuary cities play. The White House had, up until Wednesday, also failed to mention Riley in public statements since the suspect was arrested last week. 

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre only addressed Riley's murder because she was asked, and shared that the president has not spoken to the family. Biden himself also spoke about crime earlier on Wednesday, as he engaged in gaslighting the American people about how rates are down.