Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) grilled immigrant rights activists on Thursday over comments that downplayed Laken Riley’s murder and immigration comments during a heated moment during a Senate hearing on the “Remain in Mexico” policy. pursued. Crime is “not the real problem.”
“In March 2024, you wrote, ‘In the wake of the murder of a nursing student in Georgia, many on the right are talking about immigrant crime as if it were a real issue,'” Hawley said. said.
Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was found dead on the University of Georgia campus in February. Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant, was found guilty on 10 charges, including felony murder. He initially pleaded not guilty but was ultimately sentenced to life in prison without parole in November.
“This is Laken Riley,” Hawley said as her photo was posted behind him. “Her murder, a horrific murder at the hands of this illegal immigrant who was illegally paroled in the United States. [Is] Isn’t her death a real problem? ”
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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) was criticized Thursday by Democrats for his comments about the killing of Laken Riley during a hearing on the “Remain in Mexico” policy by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C. Questions were asked of the invited experts. (Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Live Stream)
Activist Adam Isakson, director of defense oversight for Latin America in the Washington office, responded: “Of course it’s a problem and it’s a tragedy.”
“I didn’t say Laken Riley’s death wasn’t a real problem. I said immigration crime wasn’t a real problem,” Isakson said. “Immigrant crimes are far less of a problem than crimes committed by U.S. citizens.”
Holly replied:[Riley] Death due to immigration crime. ”
Hawley also pointed to the case of a 12-year-old named Travis Wolfe from the St. Louis area who was killed in a car crash involving an illegal immigrant.
“I happen to think that their violent murders are a real problem,” he said. “And the fact that you’re saying otherwise is that you’re sitting here telling the Senate that the Laken Riley Act is a bad idea, that the whole thing isn’t a real problem, that the whole thing is just, what, a hoax. Would you recommend that? I think so. [it] That’s outrageous. I think that’s completely outrageous. ”
Senate Democrats join forces with Republicans to advance anti-illegal immigration bill named after Laken Riley
The Republican Laken Riley Act defeated the filibuster with the help of some Democrats. (Reuters)
Isakson said he was invited to testify at the hearing by Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and the bipartisan Laken-Reilly Act, which has already been passed by the House, would allow ICE to arrest and detain the law. He said that the content requiring the same is illegal. Immigrants who commit crimes “can cause a lot of harm,” and “you could say, ‘Oh, this person shoplifted,'” and that would be enough reason to deport someone. ”
“I want the record to be clear on this matter. Immigration crime is a real problem,” Hawley said in response.
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“I think the Laken Riley Act is absolutely necessary,” he said. “In fact, I’m proposing an amendment to the Laken Riley Act that would target people like Travis Wolf. ICE would detain undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes against children like Travis Wolf. I think it should be mandatory, and detention should be mandatory.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital after the hearing, another expert who testified, Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and law and policy expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, said that Hawley “has “It represents the frustration that Americans feel about immigration.” Crime in the United States. ”
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Arizona encounters migrants on the southern border. (U.S. Border Patrol)
“We have seen many high-profile and shocking crimes committed in the United States by immigrants who were stopped at the border and then released into the United States,” he said. “It’s called the Department of Homeland Security for a reason. The purpose of this department is to ensure that American citizens and foreign nationals who are here legally are protected from criminal depredation. Unfortunately, On this border, Biden and Harris, the administration has dropped the ball.”
Arthur added, “Criminals who by law should never be allowed into the United States have actually been released into this country and are now free to prey on both the immigrant and citizen communities of this country.” “So Tom Homan’s first job – Donald Trump’s border czar – is to round up every criminal alien, every individual who preys on both the immigrant and citizen communities in this country. , detain and remove them.”
Despite the drama, Arthur said it was a “good hearing” as there was “a lot of bipartisan agreement about the need to secure the border.”
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In this August 2019 photo, migrants, many of whom were deported to Mexico under the Trump administration’s Remain in Mexico policy, eat at an encampment near the Gateway International Bridge in Matamoros, Mexico. Waiting in line for. (AP)
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“For the first time under the Trump administration, Customs and Border Protection has indicated that remaining in Mexico is essential to border security,” he said. “If you look at the amount of money that has flowed into cartels’ pockets over the last four years, I think that’s in contrast to, as we’ve seen, 8 million, 10 million people illegally entering the United States. ” Given the number of people who have been sent back to Mexico, I definitely think the balance is better with increased border security and the possibility of reintroducing Remain in Mexico.
“As long as immigrants continue to flow into the United States in large numbers, the cartels will only get richer, expand their capabilities, and transport more drugs into the United States.”
Peter Pinedo is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
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