Migrant Who Raped and Killed Maryland Woman Was Known MS-13 Affiliate, Report Finds
The Biden administration has 'failed to implement basic screening and vetting measures' at the border, lawmakers say
The Salvadoran national who raped and killed a 20-year-old American citizen was granted entry into the United States in spite of his MS-13 affiliation and arrest record, a congressional investigation found.
The unnamed 17-year-old alien charged with the rape and murder of Kayla Hamilton was arrested "years before coming to the U.S." for "illicit association with the dangerous MS-13 gang," Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee reported Tuesday. The report claims the alien’s history should have been detected by either Border Patrol or the Department of Health and Human Services, both of which held the alien in custody before releasing him into the country. It is unclear why the alien never received a sufficient background check, but the report suggests lax immigration policies are to blame.
"The sad fact is that [Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas] and the Biden Administration have failed to implement basic screening and vetting measures—such as checking with law enforcement officials in an alien's home country—to ensure that those entering the U.S. are not dangerous criminals or known gang members," the report reads. "This callous disregard for the safety of Americans, in the name of expedited alien processing, resulted in the tragic and preventable murder of Kayla Hamilton."
The case offers a window into how the Biden administration’s lax border policies put Americans at risk across the country. At least 14,136 unaccompanied minors entered the United States at the same time as the unidentified suspect, a small subset of the 5.5 million aliens who have entered the United States illegally since President Joe Biden took office. Some of those aliens who entered the country illegally have gone on to commit high-profile crimes, including the Mexican national—who had been deported at least four times since 2009—suspected of killing five neighbors in Texas last month.
The 17-year-old suspect in the case, who has not been named due to his age, arrived at the southern border as an unaccompanied minor in March 2022. After his apprehension by Border Patrol, the suspect was then transferred to a Health and Human Services facility before being released into the custody of an alleged first cousin in Maryland.
The suspect then fled home after just a month, local authorities said. Two months later, he allegedly raped and killed Hamilton, an autistic woman who lived in Aberdeen, Maryland. The alien was arrested in January and charged with first-degree murder, robbery, and rape.
The report notes a number of warning signs that law enforcement overlooked before and after the suspect was released from federal custody. Maryland police discovered that the alleged murderer had gang tattoos upon his arrest which were not noted in his case file, the report states.
Instead, the alien suspect was described by Health and Human Services as "a respectful young man" who "demonstrated good judgment and age-appropriate behaviors." MS-13 is considered one of the most dangerous crime syndicates in the Western hemisphere. Experts estimate more than 10,000 MS-13 members reside in the United States.
"If we determine that the individuals pose a threat to national security or public safety, we deny admission, detain, remove, or turn them over to another agency for prosecution, as appropriate," a Department of Homeland Security spokesman told the Washington Free Beacon. "We work closely with our interagency and international partners to detect and prevent people who pose national security or public safety risks from entering the United States."
The Department of Health and Human Services also failed to notice a number of discrepancies with the alien suspect’s backstory. When he arrived at the U.S. border, the alien suspect said he fled El Salvador "to escape gang-related threats," the report states. He then sought to be reunited with his "aunt," who according to Health and Human Services, was really his cousin. Health and Human Services referred to that cousin as both a man and a woman, the report states.
The alien suspect later claimed he communicated with his father once he was in the United States, the report states, even though he previously said he had no relationship with him. The alien suspect also said he had no siblings in the country, although Health and Human Services identified a half-brother.
Health and Human Services has long faced criticism over how it handles alien children. A Senate report last year found the agency exhibits a "serious disregard for these children’s welfare."
In April, the New York Times published a lengthy report about how Health and Human Services released children who ended up working in factories and meatpacking plants. Some children identified by that report were as young as 12.
A senior official from Health and Human Services testified to the House of Representatives that same month that the agency is not responsible for "protecting unaccompanied alien children from abuse and trafficking after placement with a sponsor." The agency has said it cannot account for more than 85,000 alien children since Biden took office.
The Department of Health and Human Services and Border Patrol did not respond to requests for comment.
Published under: Border Crisis , Crime , House of Representatives , Illegal Immigration , Title 42
Biden Immigration Policies Help Terrorists Take Advantage of 'Glaring Vulnerabilities' At Border, Lawmakers Say
The Biden administration’s lax border policies are enabling "terrorists to take advantage of the glaring vulnerabilities" at the southern border, lawmakers say.
Rep. Mark Green (R., Tenn.), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, launched an investigation on Tuesday into the recent capture along the border of two individuals on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist, according to an investigatory letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Green and two of his committee colleagues say the arrests of these would-be terrorists "raise serious questions about the security of our Southwest border and the potential for terrorists to take advantage of the glaring vulnerabilities due to the Biden-Harris administration’s open-border policies," according to the letter, which was sent to the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. The lawmakers instruct the agencies to immediately turn over classified and non-classified information about potential threats posed by the two accused terrorists.
The congressional probe comes just a week after border agents nabbed an Afghan national who was trying to cross the border alongside a record wave of migrants spurred on by the expiration of Title 42, a public health order that restricted immigration. A second individual on the terror watchlist, a Pakistani national, was arrested during the same rush last week.
Green says the botched 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan has decimated the United States’ intelligence networks, enabling those with terrorist ties to more easily cross into America hidden among illegal aliens.
"These two individuals are only the tip of the iceberg," Green told the Free Beacon, noting that since the Biden administration took office, "Border Patrol has apprehended a record number of individuals on the terrorist watchlist illegally crossing our Southwest border."
Around 1.5 million illegal aliens "have evaded apprehension," indicating that an unknown number of potential terrorists could have entered the country undetected, according to Green.
"This is of particular concern following President Biden’s catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan and the country’s resurgence as a terrorist breeding ground," the lawmaker said. "The American people are left to fear how many terrorists have been able to slip into the U.S. undetected and what their intentions may be."
Green and his colleagues—Reps. August Pfluger (R., Texas) and Clay Higgens (R., La.)—want the FBI and Homeland Security to fully brief members about the two foreign nationals who were arrested last week. They also want documents that could shed new light on "what terrorist groups are associated with the individuals and, [if there] is any information regarding whether the individuals were directed by a terrorist group to travel to the United States."
Both agencies must also "provide any information about the means, financial support, and sponsorship of the travel of the apprehended individuals, both to and across the southwest border," according to the letter.
Terrorist apprehension along the southern border began to rise sharply last year, with Customs and Border Patrol detaining 38 individuals on the terror watchlist in just the first three months of fiscal year 2022—a figure that eclipses the totals for the past five years combined.
"An unprecedented number of people on the terrorist watchlists are attempting to cross the border, and all semblance of law and order has been lost," the House Homeland Security Committee reported in January.
Around 100 individuals on the terror watchlist are expected to be apprehended this year, though that number could grow even larger as the chaos at the southern border spirals further out of control.
Former counterterrorism officials testified before Green’s committee last month that the influx of individuals from the terror watchlist is a direct byproduct of the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has transformed the war torn country into "a terrorist safe haven."
"The security vacuum in the region could result in further terrorist encounters at the Southwest border," according to Green and his colleagues.
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