A pair of children allegedly raped by undocumented aliens threatens to define President Barack Obama’s immigration legacy as he prepares to leave office in January. Heads of both the House and Senate judiciary committees fired off letters to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson regarding the crimes that were committed this fall. Last month they teamed up after a Virginia woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by an illegal immigrant.
Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte requested Roberto Carlos Flores Sibrian's complete alien file, the date, times and results of his contacts with law enforcement, when he entered the United States, if he was ever served with a notice to appear and was the notice filed in an immigration court. Senators also asked if Martinez-Maldonado requested immigration benefits, if he is a member of a criminal gang or if he or his family has ever been contacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.in a Nov. 17 letter to Johnson.
The request has become a template for inquiries from the judiciary committees.
Sibrian is accused of hitting a woman's car on Halloween. He forced the automobile into a ditch and raped the victim for more than two hours, according to investigators. The suspect was arrested Nov. 10.
Molestation in Kan.
Tomas Martinez-Maldonado is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl on a bus in Kansas Sept. 27, according to numerous news sources. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Jan. 10. The Associated Press reported the illegal alien had been deported 10 times since 2010 and "voluntarily" left nine other times. Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, signed off on a Dec. 9 letter drafted by Kansas’ Sens.
Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts demanding Martinez-Maldonado’s immigration record.
System failed
Cosme Lopez, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Arizona, declined comment to AP on why prosecutors twice dismissed felony re-entry after deportation charges against Martinez-Maldonado in 2013 and 2015 in exchange for guilty pleas on misdemeanor entry charges. One Kansas-based immigration attorney, David Trevino, is helping the Martinez-Maldonado family. He has also been an outspoken critic of President-elect Donald Trump's plan to either toughen or enforce immigration law. However, when AP asked the lawyer to commit on Martinez-Maldonado's criminal background and pending trial, Trevino refused.
Texas 6-year-old
Edis Moya Alas — an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador — was arrested Oct. 8 for allegedly kidnapping and raping a six-year-old child in Fort Worth. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte sent a letter to Johnson in which Goodlatte claims Alas was arrested on drug charges two years ago. Goodlatte asked for the same information from the Obama administration as the senators did, but the House made the request for the information on Alas and Martinez-Maldonado on Oct. 21. The chairman set a Nov. 4 deadline which was ignored by DHS.