Republican lawmakers accuse Mayorkas of refusing to hand over files on illegal migrants suspected of serious crimes
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), accused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of refusing to hand over files on illegal migrants suspected of committing serious crimes, Fox News Digital reported Monday.
Jordan and subcommittee chairs Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) and Ben Cline (R-Va.) recently penned a letter to Mayorkas renewing requests for documents on more than a dozen migrants.
“The Committee previously wrote to [DHS] for various documents and information, including the production of alien files (A-files) and related immigration case information for several alleged criminal illegal aliens,” the lawmakers wrote. “However, to date, DHS has failed to comply with the Committee’s requests.”
According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, A-Files document interactions migrants have with various government agencies, including USCIS, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“They include all an individual’s official immigration and naturalization records and are identified by a unique A-Number. A-Files are central to our agency’s daily operations and play a key role in adjudicating immigration benefits and supporting enforcement actions,” USCIS stated.
The lawmakers called the DHS’ failure to turn over the files “unacceptable,” noting that it blocks the subcommittee from “fulfilling its constitutional oversight obligations.”
“The Committee may be forced to resort to compulsory process if these requests remain outstanding,” lawmakers warned Mayorkas.
Some of the requests that have yet to be fulfilled date back to October, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
The letter, dated Thursday, demanded information on Venezuelan national Daniel Hernandez-Martinez, who reportedly “randomly attacked at least three strangers and two cops.” Within the first two months of his arrival in New York City, he was arrested and released six times on 14 separate charges.
Lawmakers are also seeking files on Peru national Roberto Emilio Vasquez-Santamaria, who was accused of murder. Additionally, the subcommittee requested information about four of the illegal migrants accused of attacking New York City police officers outside a shelter near Times Square in February.
In March, lawmakers sought files on Diego Ibarra, the brother of the man accused of murdering Laken Riley. According to the letter, Ibarra has Tren de Aragua gang-affiliated tattoos and has had his own “run-ins with the law.”
Jordan, McClintock, and Cline provided the DHS with a new deadline of April 25 to produce the files.
In a comment to the Fox News Digital, a DHS spokesperson stated that the subcommittee’s requests are “incredibly time consuming.”
“A-Files can be thousands of pages long and must typically be redacted for a wide range of information including Law Enforcement Sensitive information that could jeopardize ongoing investigations, private information about junior DHS employees, and attorney client information,” the DHS said.
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