In a continuation of the left's demonstrated deference to accused and convicted criminals at the expense of getting answers for victims or taking steps to prevent future tragedies, the Biden Department of Homeland Security has refused to turn over immigration records for Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal alien charged with the murder of 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia, to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
In a new letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — who has already been impeached by the House for dereliction of duty related to the Biden administration's border crisis — senior members of the House Judiciary Committee air their frustration with the administration's stonewalling.
As part of the Judiciary Committee's work to conduct oversight of Biden's enforcement of federal immigration statutes, lawmakers submitted a request to the Department of Homeland Security for "basic immigration information" about Ibarra, the suspect charged with Riley's violent murder.
That request, made on February 27, included a query for "information and documents regarding Ibarra, including, but not limited to, his alien file" which was to be turned over to the committee no later than March 12. Yet, as Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) along with Reps. Tom McClintock (R-CA), and Ben Cline (R-VA) write in their letter to Mayorkas, "DHS has not provided the requested information."
"DHS's failure to produce the requested information prevents the Committee from fulfilling its constitutional oversight obligations," the lawmakers emphasized in their letter. "Accordingly, we write to reiterate our outstanding requests in our February 27, 2024, letter, which is attached for your convenience."
This time, the Judiciary Committee set the deadline for compliance from DHS to "no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 28," and they're not going to allow continued stonewalling. "Please be advised that the Committee will use compulsory process if these requests remain outstanding," the letter warned Mayorkas.
As the lawmakers' letter reminded, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records showed that Ibarra had been released into the United States under the Biden administration's policies in 2022 after he had "entered the U.S. illegally from Venezuela," taking advantage of the admin's generous parole policy "despite his reported affiliation with the dangerous Tren de Aragua gang."
"The Biden Administration's policies, articulated in your September 30, 2021, memorandum, prevent ICE from prioritizing otherwise removable aliens for arrest until such aliens commit a 'serious crime,'" the lawmakers underscored in their letter. "Accordingly, Laken's alleged murderer was free to commit this horrific crime despite previously committing crimes in Georgia and New York."
In September 2021, Townhall covered the Mayorkas memo referenced by the Judiciary Committee leaders that formalized using "prosecutorial discretion" to avoid removing millions of illegal aliens inside the U.S. According to Mayorkas at the time, choosing not to remove a wide swath of individuals illegal in the country would allow the Biden DHS to "focus our efforts on those who pose a threat to national security, public safety, and border security and thus threaten America's well-being."
Clearly, that was not true. By ignoring the responsibility of enforcing immigration laws, the Biden administration and Mayorkas specifically made it possible for individuals including Ibarra to remain in the United States. For Laken Riley and other innocent victims of illegal alien criminals, such "prosecutorial discretion" had tragic and unforgivable consequences.