Texas lawmakers demand answers on fatal crash allegedly caused by illegal immigrant: ‘Infuriating’

Texas lawmakers demand answers on fatal crash allegedly caused by illegal immigrant: ‘Infuriating’

Fox News

Adam Shaw | October 25, 2024

FIRST ON FOX: Texas lawmakers are calling for additional information from the federal government about a purported illegal immigrant accused of killing an American citizen while allegedly driving under the influence.

Thirty-five-year-old Jorge Peralta is accused of crashing into three vehicles on Oct. 13 in a collision that killed 29-year-old Grayson Davis. Peralta is accused of running away and resisting arrest, according to CBS Austin, 

The outlet reported that he confessed to having consumed five beers before driving, and that he is now being held as an ICE detainee.

Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, along with State Rep. Stan Gerdes, say they have been told that Peralta is an illegal immigrant who was deported under the Obama and Trump administrations, but that he then returned illegally in 2021.

The Bastrop County Sheriff’s office confirmed to their offices that it had reported the suspect to ICE, and that they had placed a hold on him.

“When ICE puts a hold on someone, it’s because that person is an illegal immigrant, and they have an interest in them,” Sheriff Maurice Cook said.

Now, the lawmakers want to know how the suspect re-entered after being deported multiple times, whether immigration authorities knew he was residing in the country, and what potential gaps in enforcement allowed him to re-enter the U.S.

On Tuesday, ICE told Fox News Digital that Peralta had crossed as a gotaway, meaning he was not inspected, admitted, or paroled by an immigration officer. ICE said he had been deported five separate times between 2008 and 2021. They have issued an immigration detainer after he was arrested this month.

The lawmakers pinned the blame for the noncitizen’s presence in the country on the Biden administration.

“Another family’s worst nightmare has come to pass, and it’s directly because of the Biden-Harris Administration’s reckless, open-border policies,” Rep. Cloud said in a statement.

“Their refusal to enforce our immigration laws has taken another innocent life. How many American citizens have to be killed by illegal immigrants before Joe Biden and Kamala Harris decide to act?”

“Yet another Texan is dead directly because of the Biden-Harris border crisis,” Cruz said. “Texans deserve answers about why this illegal alien was allowed back into our country after being deported twice. This crime was both infuriating and avoidable, but the Biden-Harris administration has made a cynical decision to keep the border open for political purposes. The resulting crimes are avoidable, infuriating, and unacceptable.”

Gerdes said the community was “heartbroken” by the tragedy and that he would be pushing legislation to address illegal immigration at the state level. All three lawmakers say they want a full investigation into the suspect’s immigration history.

The case comes amid a fierce debate over illegal immigration. Republicans have tied the border crisis and the crimes that have emerged from it on the rolling-back of Trump-era policies by the Biden administration.

They say that ending border wall construction, ending “Remain-in-Mexico” and narrowing ICE deportations have encouraged increased border crossings. Former President Trump has promised, if re-elected to launch a mass deportation operation.

The Biden administration has called for the passage of a bipartisan border security bill introduced in January, which many conservative Republicans have opposed, to increase funding and limit some entries into the U.S.

It has pointed to a sharp decrease in encounters at the border since President Biden signed an executive order in June limiting arrivals. Numbers have since plunged by over 55%. The agency also says it has completed over 700,000 removals or returns for FY 24, the most since 2010.