Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., took a dig at an immigrant rights activist in a heated moment during a Senate hearing on the immigrant issue. “Remain in Mexico” policy. on Thursday for what he said was an understatement The murder of Laken Riley And for saying that immigrant crime “is not an actual issue.”
“In March 2024, I wrote: The killing of a nursing student in Georgia got a lot of people on the right talking about immigrant crime as if it were an actual issue,” he said. Hawley.
Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University who was found dead on the University of Georgia campus in February. Jose Ibarraa 26-year-old illegal immigrant, was convicted of 10 counts, including felony murder. He initially pleaded not guilty, but was eventually sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in November.
“Here's Laken Riley,” Hawley said as her photo was posted behind him. “Her murder, her horrific murder at the hands of this illegal immigrant who was illegally paroled in the United States. (Isn't) her death an actual issue?”
Laken-Riley Act overcomes filibuster in Senate as Democrats lend a hand to GOP
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., questions a Democratic-invited expert about his statements on the killing of Lakin Riley during a hearing on the “Remain in Mexico” policy by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (Live broadcast of Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs)
Activist Adam Isaacson, who works as director of defense oversight in the Washington Office on Latin American Affairs, responded by saying: “Of course it is an issue, it is a tragedy.”
“I didn't say Laken Riley's death wasn't an actual issue, I said immigrant crimes aren't an actual issue,” Isaacson said. “Immigrant crime is much less important than crime committed by American citizens.”
“(Riley) died because of an immigrant crime,” Hawley replied.
Hawley also pointed to the case of A St. Louis area 12-year-old named Travis Wolfe Who was killed in a car accident involving an illegal immigrant.
“I think the violent murders they committed are actual cases,” he said. “And the fact that you would say otherwise, sit here and tell the Senate that Lakin-Riley law It's a bad idea, that the whole thing isn't an actual problem, it's all just, what, made up? I think (it's) outrageous. “I think it's absolutely outrageous.”
Senate Democrats join Republicans to push Laken Riley's anti-illegal immigration bill
The GOP's Lakin-Riley Act overcame a filibuster with help from some Democrats. (Reuters)
Isakson, who said he was invited to testify at the hearing by a Democratic member of the House of Representatives. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs CommitteeHe said the bipartisan Lakin-Riley Act, which has already passed the House and requires ICE to arrest and detain illegal immigrants who have committed a crime, “could cause a lot of harm” and “would allow me to say, 'Oh, this “The person stole from the store.” That would be sufficient probable cause to deport someone.
“I want the record to be clear on this, that immigrant crime is a real issue,” Hawley responded.
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“I think the Laken-Riley Act is absolutely necessary,” he said. “In fact, I am proposing to amend the Laken-Riley Act so that it covers people like Travis Wolf. I believe that ICE should detain, and should be required to detain, these illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes against children like Travis Wolf.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital after the hearing, another expert, Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and law and policy expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, said Hawley was “voicing the frustration that many Americans feel toward immigrants.” Crime in the United States.”
Migrants are being encountered at the southern border in Arizona. (US Border Patrol)
“We have witnessed many horrific crimes committed in the United States, not just high-profile ones, by immigrants who were stopped at the border and then released into the United States,” he said. “It's called Department of Homeland Security For some reason; The purpose of this Department is to ensure that United States citizens and aliens here lawfully are protected from criminal predation. “Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris administration dropped the ball on this matter at the border.”
“Criminal individuals, who by law should not be allowed into the United States at all, have already been released into this country, and are now free to exploit the immigrant communities and citizens of this country,” Arthur added. “So, one job for Tom Homan – Donald Trump's border czar “The President himself will round up, detain, and deport all criminal aliens, and all individuals who prey on the immigrant communities and citizens of this country.”
Despite the theatrics, Arthur said it was a “good hearing” because there was “a lot of bipartisan agreement about the need to secure the border.””
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In this photo taken in August 2019, migrants – many of whom were sent back to Mexico under the Trump administration's “Remain in Mexico” policy – wait in line for a meal at a camp near the Gateway International Bridge in Matamoros, Mexico. (AP)
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“CBP referred to Remain in Mexico as indispensable to border security the first time it was used under the Trump administration,” he said. “I think when you look at the amount of money that has flowed into the pockets of the cartels over the last four years, you know, as we've seen, 8 million or 10 million people are coming illegally into the United States, and by contrast, for the number of people being sent back… To Mexico, I think the balance is definitely in favor of border enforcement and perhaps reinstating the Remain in Mexico program.
“As long as immigrants continue to come to the United States in large numbers, the cartels will only get rich, they will only expand their capabilities and they will only ship more drugs into the United States.”
