Mother of Daughter Killed by Illegal: His Bail Was ‘Less Than it Cost to Bury My Baby’

The mother of a recent college graduate who was killed by an illegal immigrant who later absconded after posting bail and remains at large, offered emotional testimony Tuesday before a House panel.

Michelle Root, the mother of 21-year old Sarah Root, spoke about the devastation of losing her daughter at the hands of Eswin Mejia, an illegal immigrant who killed Root while street-racing drunk. Mejia was able to flee when Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to detain him and he was able to post bail.

“Eswin spent four days in jail and is believed to have fled the country,” Michelle Root said. “He posted $5,000 bond, which was less than the cost it was to bury my daughter Sarah. Because of the lack of controls, the police, immigration, U.S. Marshals and law enforcement have little or no information on his whereabouts.”

Root testified before the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee, alongside Laura Wilkerson, the mother of Josh Wilkerson — who was tortured and murdered by an illegal immigrant — at a hearing examining the victims of illegal immigrant crime.

“Eswin was not a stranger to law enforcement and failed to honor his legal obligations for minortraffic infractions, prior to killing my daughter,” she said. “Now a failed local judicial system that set his bail too low coupled with flawed Obama administration policies have rewarded the illegal and punished my family and hampered law enforcement in their investigations.”

Mejia is now on ICE’s Most Wanted List.