House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., on Friday accused the Obama administration of ignoring the murder of Americans at the hands of illegal immigrants, and said this time, Obama’s failed immigration policy has contributed to the death of a veteran.
“The Obama administration’s callous disregard for our nation’s immigration laws has spiraled into a public safety crisis that has manifested itself in the heinous murder of another innocent woman, this time a veteran of the United States Air Force,” Goodlatte said Friday.
“How many Americans must die at the hands of unlawful criminal immigrants before the Obama administration takes a serious look at the failure of its own policies?” he asked.
Goodlatte was talking about the murder of Marilyn Pharis, who was allegedly killed in July by Victor Martinez Ramirez, an illegal immigrant. Ramirez allegedly raped then murdered Pharis, an act that is once again raising doubts about how serious the Obama administration is about fully enforcing immigration laws.
Goodlatte and other Republicans have blamed sanctuary cities for these deaths, including the July murder of Kate Steinle in San Francisco. Sanctuary cities make it a policy not to comply with aspects of federal immigration law, in a bid to foster cooperation between illegal immigrants and local law enforcement.
But Republicans say the wave of murders is enough, and that the Obama administration needs to take real steps to force cities to follow federal orders to detain and hold illegals.
Goodlatte said the Obama administration contributes to these policies by setting lower standards on which illegal immigrants are a priority for removal.
“The Obama administration should be leading the way in immigration enforcement so states and localities can no longer ignore federal law and enact dangerous sanctuary policies,” Goodlatte said. “Instead, this administration’s misguided policy that only certain criminal convictions should render an unlawful immigrant a ‘priority’ for removal leads to countless crimes inflicted on Americans and legal immigrants.”
Before leaving for the summer break, the House passed legislation that would strip federal funding for cities that don’t follow federal guidance on immigration matters.
Earlier this week, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the Pharis murder shows there’s a “total breakdown” of cooperation between the federal and local governments, and that it’s causing devastating harm to U.S. citizens.
