U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) called for answers on Monday about the release of an illegally present alien who was later accused of murder.
Goodlatte, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pressed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson about why immigration authorities released Johnny Josue Sanchez without taking steps to remove him from the country.
Sanchez is accused of murdering five people in Los Angeles by intentionally setting fire to the building in which they were sleeping on June 13.
In a letter to Johnson, the lawmakers said that Sanchez, an illegally present immigrant from Honduras, was initially apprehended by Border Patrol agents in 2012 for unlawfully entering a house but was later released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because he did not have a prior criminal record.
“Sanchez was arrested in January 2016 for domestic violence,” the legislators wrote. “He was also arrested on drug charges in May and on June 8, five days before the alleged murders. Sanchez is now charged with murder and faces the death penalty. In light of the fact that Sanchez is an illegally present alien, who was known to ICE but not placed in removal proceedings, it appears that the DHS has not taken all appropriate actions to ensure the safety and security of the American public.”
Goodlatte and Grassley requested information about how and when Sanchez entered the United States, dates on which law enforcement had contact with him, and whether or not he had applied for such immigration benefits as deferred action.
“The Privacy Act authorizes disclosure of information to committees of Congress,” the legislators wrote. “If (Johnson) cannot fully respond to each and every request for documents or information set forth above, please identify the specific item requested to which you cannot fully respond and explain why you cannot respond.”