DHS accuses House Democrats of meeting criminal illegal immigrant

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday accused several House Democrats of meeting with a criminal illegal immigrant at an ICE detention facility, calling the visit a move in which they “chose to stand with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens.”

According to the department, four House Democrats — Reps. Juan Vargas, Mike Levin, Sara Jacobs and Scott Peters — visited the ICE San Diego Field Office on Monday and requested to speak with the Honduran national who’s been accused of kidnapping and abusing his spouse. 

“Democrats once again chose to stand with a criminal illegal alien over American citizens,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “This criminal illegal alien these Democrat lawmakers met with has been charged with kidnapping and domestic abuse.”

McLaughlin described the representatives as “sanctuary politicians” who “continue to smear” efforts made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to remove offenders from the country.

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“These sanctuary politicians continue to smear law enforcement and falsely claim ICE is not targeting the worst of the worst. It’s disgusting that these sanctuary politicians continue to do the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.”   

Dennis Mauricio Rojas-Molina, who was previously deported from the U.S. a decade ago, was arrested in May on charges of kidnapping and spousal battery.

In the summer of 2015, under the Obama administration, Rojas-Molina was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol near Lukeville, Arizona, but was later released into the country. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal several months after his arrest, and he was deported on Oct. 14, 2015. He subsequently re-entered the United States illegally at an unknown date and time.

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In a video posted to Rep. Mike Levin’s X account on Monday, featuring all four lawmakers at a news conference, Levin confirmed that they had visited a detainee who was recently arrested, though he did not name the individual. He noted that the man has two children — ages 11 and 5.

“Folks like him need a path to stay,” Levin said about the detainees the representatives visited. “They need a path to legal status so that they can continue to work hard and contribute positively to our economy… We need to treat them better than this.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Reps. Juan Vargas, Mike Levin, Sara Jacobs and Scott Peters for more information. 

DHS added that ICE continues to arrest the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal immigrants, despite Democrats’ claims that the department is not prioritizing offenders — citing Rep. Sara Jacobs’ post on X Monday stating, “ICE isn’t going after criminals; they’re targeting your neighbors and friends.”

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“Seventy percent of the illegal aliens arrested by ICE have criminal convictions or pending charges in the United States,” DHS said, adding that the department continues to focus its enforcement efforts on murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, terrorists and other dangerous individuals. 

The department also emphasized that the figure does not reflect those wanted for crimes in other countries, those with INTERPOL notices or those facing human rights-related violations.