Texas lawmakers demand answers on fatal crash caused by illegal immigrant: ‘Infuriating’

FIRST ON FOX: Texas lawmakers is requesting additional information from the federal government about an alleged illegal immigrant accused of killing a U.S. citizen while allegedly driving under the influence.

Thirty-five-year-old Jorge Peralta is accused of crashing into three vehicles on October 13 in a collision that killed 29-year-old Grayson Davis. Peralta is charged with fleeing and resisting arrest, according to the suit CBS Austin,

The station reported that he confessed to consuming five beers before driving and is now being held as an ICE detainer.

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Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, along with state Rep. Stan Gerdes, say they were told Peralta was an illegal immigrant who was deported under the Obama and Trump administrations, but that he then returned illegally in 2021.

The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to their offices that they reported the suspect to ICE and that they have taken him into custody.

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“When ICE takes hold of someone, it’s because that person is a illegal immigrant and they have an interest in them,” Sheriff Maurice Cook said.

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Now lawmakers want to know how the suspect re-entered after being deported multiple times, whether immigration officials knew he was living in the country and what possible loopholes in law enforcement allowed him to re-enter the US.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but lawmakers blamed it the presence of a non-citizen in the country on the Biden administration.

“Another family’s worst nightmare has happened, and it’s directly because of the reckless open-border policies of the Biden-Harris Administration,” Rep. Cloud said in a statement.

“Their refusal to enforce our immigration laws has taken another innocent life. How many American citizens must be killed by illegal immigrants before Joe Biden and Kamala Harris decide to act?”

“Yet another Texan has died directly from the Biden-Harris border crisis,” Cruz said. “Texans deserve answers about why this illegal alien was allowed back into our country after being deported twice. This crime was both upsetting and avoidable, but the Biden-Harris administration made a cynical decision to keep the border open for political purposes. crimes are avoidable, annoying and unacceptable.”

Gerdes said the community is heartbroken by the tragedy and will push for legislation to address illegal immigration at the state level. All three lawmakers say they want a full investigation into the suspect’s immigration history.

The case comes amid a heated debate over illegal immigration. Republicans tied the border crisis and the crimes that arose from it as a result of the rollback of Trump-era policies by the Biden administration.

They say ending border wall construction, ending “stay in Mexico” and curbing ICE deportations have encouraged border crossings. Former President Trump has vowed, if re-elected, to launch a mass deportation operation.

The Biden administration has pushed for passage of a bipartisan border security bill introduced in January, which many conservative Republicans opposed, to increase funding and limit some entry into the US.

It pointed to a sharp drop in border encounters since President Biden signed an executive order in June limiting arrivals. Since then, the numbers have dropped by more than 55%. The agency also says it completed more than 700,000 removals or returns for FY24, the most since 2010.

Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from Fox News Digital’s immigration hub.

Source of the original article: Texas lawmakers demand answers on fatal crash caused by illegal immigrant: ‘Infuriating’