One of the nation's key sheriffs fighting crimes and drug peddling by illegal immigrants charged that Americans would be locked up for wrongdoing illegals regularly get a free pass on.

In a Senate hearing focused on the impact of crimes by illegal immigrants on Americans as far north as Wisconsin and Washington, Grant County, Wash., Chief Deputy Ryan Rectenwald described a gruesome murder in 2016 of Jill Marie Sundberg by a previously deported illegal immigrant who skipped out on an $8,000 bond.



"He never returned for his hearing. No failure to appear warrants were ever issued," said in prepared testimony before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson. The hearing begins at 10 a.m.

"That's not how legal residents are treated when they miss court dates; you and I would have had warrants issued for our arrest," he added in the advance testimony provided to Secrets.

He added:

It makes sense that after being convicted of a felony, you should not be allowed to bail out of your immigration hearing. If you abscond, warrants should be issued and ICE and local law enforcement should be able to pick you up.

Now, I realize that this may present administrative and budgetary concerns, but we need easier access to the bad guys. This isn't about illegal immigrants who reside in our communities peacefully alongside us.

Allowing us these tools would help us distinguish between the truly law abiding and those whose existence is to harm through violence or drug distribution via enabling policies and practices. This certainly is not justice.

TOMORROW: #HSGAC hearing on the effects of border insecurity and need for immigration enforcement. Watch here: https://t.co/vg0LTRW60F — Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) March 1, 2017



Sanctuary cities and states often given even the hardest of illegal immigrant criminals protection from seizure by Immigration and Customs Enforcement who seek to "detain" those it wants to deport.

The sheriff said that he "can empathize" with people who fret over breaking up illegal immigrant families with deportation, the crimes they conduct rips apart American families too.

Johnson Discusses Border Security with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu https://t.co/1BJEWTYU5x pic.twitter.com/Gx50WK4K5J — Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) December 20, 2016



President Trump plans to stop that and is threatening cities with funding cuts if they don't cooperate. He is also focusing his deportation efforts on criminal illegals, as former President Obama had also done.

Johnson has long studied the problems on the border and his committee has found a reason for much of the illegal traffic — drugs, especially heroin and opioids.

"Border security and immigration laws are not just a concern for communities along the border. They affect all Americans," he said in his opening statement.

"America's borders are not secure. To truly secure our borders, the United States must identify and eliminate the incentives for illegal immigration. Our failure to do so can have tragic consequences," he added.

Before the hearing, he dispatched a letter to ICE and Homeland Security seeking information on illegals accused of murder and felony crimes during the Obama administration. He also applauded the department for initiating a new program to reach out and work with the families of victims of crimes by illegals.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com



