Bob Goodlatte: Obama Immigration Rules Put 'Criminals Back on Streets'

By News Max

The killing of Kathryn Steinle at the hands of an often deported Mexican criminal has reignited fierce criticism of the Democrats' deportation policies, The Washington Times reported.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte has blasted the Obama administration for making federal requests to detain illegal immigrants into "something voluntary" and "releasing criminals back onto the streets."

"This administration is not enforcing our immigration laws," the Virginia Republican told the Times. "And, quite frankly, I don't think they care."

"This tragedy in San Francisco — which is repeated every day around the country but doesn't get this kind of notoriety — is a product of that lack of caring about the rule of law," Goodlatte added.

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump cited the murder as an example of what he says is the Mexican government's routine tendency of forcing "their most unwanted people into the United States."

"This was evident just this week when, as an example, a young woman in San Francisco was viciously killed by a five-time deported Mexican with a long criminal record, who was forced back into the United States because they didn't want him in Mexico," he said.

"This is merely one of thousands of similar incidents throughout the United States. In other words, the worst elements in Mexico are being pushed into the United States by the Mexican government."

Meanwhile, the alleged killer, Francisco Sanchez, gave an exclusive jailhouse interview to ABC News in which he admitted that he repeatedly returned to San Francisco because of its sanctuary policies.

"Did you keep coming back to San Francisco because you knew that they wouldn't actively look for you to deport you?" an ABC News affiliate asked him. Sanchez responded, "Yes."

            

Sanchez, who has seven prior felony convictions, is accused of shooting Steinle, 32, last week as she walked along Pier 14 with her father.
According to the Times, Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said on Twitter, "Another American killed by sanctuary city policies shielding illegal aliens from deportation."

As Republicans attempted to point the finger at Democrats over the affair, the White House has tried to shift the blame to Republicans for their failure to support comprehensive immigration reform legislation, the Times reported.

"The president has done everything within his power to make sure that we're focusing our law enforcement resources on criminals and those who pose a threat to public safety," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said, according to the Times.

"It's because of the political efforts of Republicans that we have not been able to make the kind of investment that we would like to make in securing our border and keeping our communities safe."

But critics strongly rejected that view.

"What you see right now is a Department of Homeland Security that's been intentionally isolated, not just from state and local agencies, but also from other federal agencies in what is an overt and malicious effort to jeopardize public safety and security in a quest to try to lock up the Latino vote for the next 50 years," Dan Stein, president of the anti-amnesty Federation for American Immigration Reform, told the Times.