WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement released an interim report titled, “The Murder of Kayla Hamilton: A Case for Immigration Enforcement and Border Security." The report details an investigation into an MS-13 illegal alien gang member who crossed the border and was charged in July 2022 with the murder a 20-year-old Maryland woman, Kayla Hamilton.
On Feb. 27, 2023, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA) sent letters to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra demanding information related to the alien’s immigration case file and the Biden Administration’s vetting process. In addition to including numerous unnecessary redactions, the alien’s case file materials contained multiple factual inconsistencies that raise serious questions about the adequacy of that vetting process.
The report also revealed that:
* Years before coming to the U.S., the alien charged with Kayla’s murder was arrested in El Salvador for “illicit association" with the dangerous MS-13 gang;
* Law enforcement officials investigating Kayla’s murder after the fact verified this information by merely contacting officials in El Salvador;
* Law enforcement officials investigating Kayla’s murder also noticed the alien’s gang tattoos, a fact not disclosed in the alien’s case file held by HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at the time of his placement or in the DHS alien file at the time of his apprehension;
* The case note about gang tattoos by law enforcement officials, dated August 2022, came mere months after the alien was in the care of DHS, HHS ORR, and his sponsor; and
* While the alien’s homicide charge was pending and after his affiliation with MS-13 was disclosed, authorities still placed the alien in a foster home with other children present.
Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden Administration have failed to implement basic screening and vetting measures to ensure that those entering the U.S. are not dangerous criminals or known gang members. Their failures have directly resulted in the tragic and preventable murder of Kayla Hamilton.
Read the full interim report here.
Source: House Committee On The Judiciary