U.S. Rep. Steube criticizes Mayorkas on illegal immigration following Florida rape case
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
U.S. Rep. Greg Steube is criticizing U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas over an alleged sex crime committed in Englewood, joining the ranks of Republicans trumpeting calls for action on illegal immigration by tethering the issue to serious crimes.
Steube is a cosponsor of H.R. 863 to impeach Mayorkas, and on Feb. 13, he was among House of Representatives members who narrowly voted 214 to 213 in favor of impeaching Mayorkas.
He sent a letter to Mayorkas on Friday demanding the case history, border crossing documentation, and other detailed information on Santo Felix Cruz-Ramos, an undocumented immigrant arrested for rape on Feb. 26 in Englewood. He also referenced other cases.
More immigration: 'What are we going to do?' Two migrants share fears for the future in Florida crackdown
Also: Caught in the middle: Chinese scholars targeted by new Florida laws that take aim at China
According to the letter, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office obtained video of Cruz-Ramos entering the hotel room of a woman who claims he raped her. Surveillance video also shows Cruz-Ramos running out of the room.
"I sent a letter to Mayorkas demanding information about when Cruz-Ramos was released into our country and what was known about him at the time," Steube said. "Every state is a border state under Biden-Mayorkas policies. Without a new president who will shut down the border, every state will soon experience what Texas and Arizona have been dealing with for years.”
According to Steube's office, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol have arrested 11,958 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions nationwide, including 157 gang members this fiscal year. There have been about 1.23 million encounters with undocumented immigrants through January, according to U.S. CBP statistics.
"Just last week, Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal alien from Venezuela, was arrested for the murder of Laken Riley on the campus of the University of Georgia," Steube wrote in the letter. "This week, in a Maryland suburb of Washington D.C., Nilson Granados-Trejo, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was charged with the murder of a 2-year-old boy. These are just a sampling of the crime wave set in motion by President Biden’s dishonorable indifference to the crisis on our southern border."
More: Sarasota shelter for migrant children caught in DeSantis battle against immigration policy
Steube said he does not believe illegal immigrants will follow U.S. laws after attempting to cross the border into the U.S. without authorization.
His remarks come soon after presidential candidate Donald Trump also spoke about the murder of a 22-year-old nursing student, allegedly killed by Ibarra, while on the campaign trail. Last week he touted his "remain in Mexico" policy that keeps immigrants out of the country while their legal proceedings unfold.
"Secretary Mayorkas’ acting ICE Director admitted to Congress last year that ICE is releasing illegals into our country without being able to verify criminal history in the country of origin," Steube said in a statement to the Herald-Tribune. "This is a stunning admission. Illegal immigrants break our laws to enter the country in the first place, what makes anyone think they’d start obeying laws after they’re here?"
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: U.S. Rep. Greg Steube criticizes Mayorkas on illegal immigration
