North Carolina Republican Rep. Walter Jones told Breitbart News Wednesday that the Obama administration is putting American citizens at risk by failing to enforce immigration law.
“By refusing to enforce our country’s immigration laws, the Obama administration is compromising the safety of law-abiding American citizens,” Jones said in an email to Breitbart, reacting to report about the 36,007 criminal immigrants ICE released back into the United States last year.
According to Jones, who recently survived a primary challenge against former Bush administration official Taylor Griffin, lack of enforcement rewards illegal aliens who break America’s laws.
“Complacency in enforcement only rewards the individuals who have cheated the system — and in these cases, committed additional crimes in addition to breaking the law through illegal entry — and encourages others to do the same,” he said.
On Monday, the Center for Immigration Studies reported an internal document that revealed ICE released more than 36,000 criminal immigrants convicted of nearly 88,000 crimes — including murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping.