Democrat senator thwarts GOP effort to pass bill detaining illegal immigrants charged with violent crime | Fox News
By: Julia Johnson (Fox News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, attempted to force a floor vote Wednesday on a law that would require illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the hope of preventing avoidable attacks and resulting deaths.
The Iowa Republican's unanimous consent request was thwarted by Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who objected to the request.
Ernst requested unanimous consent from her colleagues in order to advance Sarah's Law to the floor for a vote. During her speech, she pleaded with colleagues to pass her bill, recalling the death of Sarah Root and also referencing the recent death of Laken Riley, both allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrants.
The bill would require ICE to take into custody illegal immigrants who are arrested and charged with causing the death or serious injury of another. This was reiterated by Ernst during her speech: "It would merely require ICE to detain, just to detain, otherwise deportable illegal immigrants charged with killing or seriously injuring another person," she said.
Durbin said the bill would detain victims of trafficking or domestic abuse who were charged with crimes. According to him, the bill would "deprive immigrants of the due process that everyone is afforded."
The measure's namesake, Sarah Root, was a 21-year-old Iowa woman who was killed by a drunk driver who was in the country illegally. Ernst noted that the suspect, Edwin Mejia, was able to post bond and ultimately escape facing the court.
"Citing the Obama administration's November 2014 memo on immigration enforcement priorities, ICE declined to take custody of Mejia despite his repeated driving offenses and history of skipping court dates," Ernst said.
Riley, the 22-year-old University of Georgia nursing student also referenced by the senator, was killed last month. Another illegal immigrant, Jose Ibarra, was arrested and has been charged with several crimes, including malice murder and felony murder, among others.
News of Riley's killing made headlines across the country last month and has prompted congressional Republicans to demand answers: "The reality is Laken's heartbreaking story did not have to happen," Ernst said.
According to the senator, both Root and Riley's deaths are "doomed to be repeated" under the current policies
The senator pointed to the immigration practice known as "catch and release" in which illegal immigrants seeking entry on the basis of asylum are released during the processing period.
"Instead of being detained while he was processed, he was released into our country — never to be heard from again," she said.
While Ibarra may have been prevented from allegedly killing Riley had he been detained upon entry to the country, Sarah's Law would not have stopped the attack because Ibarra's criminal record doesn't include crimes in which others were killed or injured.
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Dick Durban is an idiot. Illinois must be so proud he is protecting aliens at US citizens' expense.
Why on earth would any reasonable person be opposed to holding aliens charged with serious crimes?
Why are Democrats protecting criminal aliens?
Democrats love their criminals- doesn't matter if they are US citizens or not.
And they heavily favor the latter.
The Dems love affair of the criminal elements within the ranks of illegal aliens is going to be their undoing. The border invasion has become the major concern of the electorate now, even more than the economy.
When Democrats stop doing idiotic things like opposing common-sense bills, maybe it will be a little more believable that they care about Americans more than aliens.
Until then, rest assured, America, Democrats care less for you than they do for criminal aliens.
So, with that, Dick Durbin and everybody else that opposed this should be listed as an accomplice to EVERY violent crimes that is committed by an illegal. He wasn't to support them, he can do it from the adjoining prison cell.