Chevalier: Shouldn’t Deport Man Shot by ICE in NY Even if He Has Gang Ties, Prior Gun Arrests

On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” New York Democratic U.S. House nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier argued that, even if the man shot by ICE in New York has gang ties and prior arrests on gun charges, he shouldn’t face the “double jeopardy” of going into the criminal courts and then being “subjected to the cruelty of what we just saw yesterday, by another law enforcement agency like ICE.”

Host Erin Burnett asked, “DHS says that he has gang ties, two prior arrests on guns and weapons charges, that he was allegedly part of an investigation into a shooting of a Customs and Border Protection officer. Now, again, this is what they’re saying. So, you could take issue with it if you know more. But do you think a person who has that kind of criminal history — if that indeed ends up being the case — is a legitimate target for law enforcement to remove from the country if he’s a non-citizen?”

Chevalier responded, “That is an issue of the criminal courts, right? If — we have a criminal justice system in this country, and it does not make sense to me that we would subject somebody to the double jeopardy of being tried by our criminal courts and then, again, subjected to the cruelty of what we just saw yesterday, by another law enforcement agency like ICE. The additional punishment being here, of course, deportation and permanent separation from your family.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett