Special to WorldTribune.com
Two mothers whose children were killed by illegal aliens told Congress in emotional testimony on April 19 that their children would still be alive if the Obama administration had enforced U.S. immigration laws.
Laura Wilkerson – mother of a teenage boy murdered by an illegal alien – said in testimony on April 19 before the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security that immigration laws were not being enforced “and my kid suffered terribly for it.”
“Nothing has been done about it. We can have hearing after hearing, after hearing. Until there is action, we’re just talking,” she said.
“I see this American government scrambling over themselves to pretend to care about American families. And instead, you give every bit of America to people who have broken our laws entering this country, then go on to break other laws. You talked about fear – illegals are afraid to come out of the shadows. You want to know what fear is? When somebody reaches into your house and grabs your littlest kid and tortures them. You’re afraid of everything for a long time. I could care less about the fear that they put themselves in here. I didn’t bring my kid across a border. I did not put my kid in harm’s way when he went to school that day. You did. Everyone of you is elected by an American. It is time for you to stand in the gap for Americans. I don’t understand it, how you pick and choose a law. The laws are here to be enforced by who?”
Michelle Root testified about her frustration with how a drunk, street-racing illegal alien killed her daughter and fled the country.
“It’s just devastating that the laws that we have in place weren’t carried out,” she said. “The local law enforcement did their job. They detained him. Went to [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], tried to get a hold on him – ICE refused.
“Eswin [Mejia] spent four days in jail and is believed to have fled the country. He posted $5,000 bond – which was less than the cost it was to bury my daughter Sarah. Because of the lack of controls, the police, immigration, U.S. Marshals and law enforcement have little or no information on his whereabouts. Eswin was not a stranger to law enforcement and failed to honor his legal obligation for minor traffic infractions prior to killing my daughter. Now a failed local judicial system that set his bond too low coupled with the flawed Obama administration policies have rewarded the illegal and punished my family and hampered law enforcement in their investigations.”
A Maryland sheriff testified at the hearing that amnesty for minors has led to increased gang crime and warned that without a secure border every county in America will be a “border county.”
“Open borders, reckless sanctuary policies, and failure to enforce our immigration laws have greatly impacted public safety and national security throughout every jurisdiction of this country,” said Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins. “Every single day, more Americans are becoming victims of senseless crimes, being injured and killed by criminal aliens, many are transnational gang members.”
Jenkins said that his cooperation with ICE through the Department of Homeland Security’s 287(g) has helped rid his county of many illegal aliens.
“We have very effectively built a wall around Frederick County (about 40 miles from Washington, D.C.), given the fact that most surrounding jurisdictions do nothing or very little to cooperate with ICE,” Jenkins testified.