WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA) launched an investigation into reports that an unaccompanied alien child and MS-13 gang member murdered a 20-year-old Maryland woman in July 2022.
In letters to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, the Committee demanded information related to the murder's immigration case file and screening process.
Excerpts of the letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas:
"On Jan. 15, 2023, the police department in Aberdeen, Maryland, arrested [redacted], a 17-year-old illegal alien and known MS-13 gang member from El Salvador for the violent assault and murder of 20-year-old Maryland resident Kayla Hamilton. Press reports indicate that [redacted] entered the United States in March 2022 in Rio Grande City, Texas, and 'identified as an unaccompanied minor.'
"Criminal aliens and gang members exploit the U.S. immigration system to harm Americans. The Biden Administration's border and immigration policies only increase the likelihood that those criminal aliens will successfully enter and remain in the U.S. To assist us with our continued oversight of federal immigration policy and procedures, please provide the following materials regarding [redacted], the reported MS-13 gang member who is charged with murdering Kayla Hamilton:
1. Case history information, including, but not limited to, the alien's immigration history, immigration benefits applications, the alien file (A-file) or consular file (including all consular notes), and immigration detention status and history.
2. Information regarding the time, date, and place of any and all of the alien's entries into the United States.
3. Information regarding the alien's processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, including whether CBP officials were alerted to derogatory information about the alien and what questions were asked of the alien during the screening process."
Excerpts of the letter to HHS Secretary Becerra:
"The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is charged with the care and placement of unaccompanied alien children referred by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). On Jan. 15, 2023, the police department in Aberdeen, Maryland, arrested [redacted], a 17-year-old illegal alien and known MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, for the violent assault and murder of 20-year-old Maryland resident Kayla Hamilton. According to press reports, [redacted] entered the United States in Rio Grande City, Texas, as an unaccompanied alien child and identified a woman living in Frederick, Maryland, as his aunt.
"The Biden Administration's open-border policies have created vulnerabilities that criminal aliens and gang members exploit to the detriment of American citizens. Pursuant to the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to conduct oversight of federal immigration policy and procedures. As the Committee continues to conduct oversight of the Biden Administration's enforcement of federal immigration laws, we ask that you please provide the following materials:
1. All case history information, including but not limited to [redacted] case file, family reunification packet, as well as any materials provided to HHS ORR by federal agencies such as CBP upon [redacted] referral and any information provided to HHS ORR pursuant to its request for information from the referring agency.
2. A detailed description of, and related documents regarding, what steps HHS took to establish and verify [redacted] age.
3. A detailed description of, and related documents regarding, how HHS officials learned of, or were notified of, [redacted] status as a known member of the MS-13 gang, what the source of that information was, and when HHS first learned of that information.
4. A detailed description of, and related documents regarding, how HHS established and verified, if at all, the familial relationship between [redacted] and the woman he identified as his aunt.
5. All case materials referring or relating to the vetting of [redacted] sponsor, i.e., the woman he identified as his aunt."
Read the full letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas here.
Read the full letter to HHS Secretary Becerra here.
##
Source: House Committee On The Judiciary
