WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement released an interim report regarding Jose Leonardo Marquez-Marquez, an illegal alien who crossed the border and was one of millions released into the country during the Biden-Harris Administration. He was arrested on U.S. Capitol grounds with a weapon.

The Committee's review of Jose Leonardo Marquez-Marquez's A-file reveals that Border Patrol apprehended the Venezuelan national on August 21, 2022, at the Eagle Pass International Bridge after he illegally entered the United States. Marquez-Marquez listed no point of contact in the United States but provided Washington, D.C., as his address. Just one day after he illegally entered the United States, Border Patrol released Marquez-Marquez into the country due to detention capacity.

According to DHS's data, however, the agency had capacity to detain Marquez-Marquez when he was released. Fourteen months later, Marquez-Marquez received a Notice to Appear at a hearing before an immigration judge. At the same check-in, ICE issued a warrant for his arrest and determined that he was a priority for arrest and removal. However, ICE ordered Marquez-Marquez released on his own recognizance with conditions that he not commit crimes or associate with known gang members.

As a result, despite ICE determining that Marquez-Marquez was an enforcement priority, he remained free in the United States. Marquez-Marquez was later arrested on U.S. Capitol grounds in possession of a machete in front of the Senate Building with a brick in hand and carrying a fraudulent visa and U.S. social security card.