House Republicans released an interim report calling out the Biden administration for releasing a 16-year-old illegal immigrant who has since been charged with the sexual assault and murder of a 20-year-old autistic woman last year.
The report, which originated from both the Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, called the murder of Kayla Hamilton in Aberdeen, Maryland, “A tragic example of the failure to enforce U.S. immigration law under Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas’ watch.”
The committee began an investigation into the events surrounding the 20-year-old’s death in February of this year.
The suspect, who was apprehended in January, is an illegal immigrant and an alleged MS-13 gang member, who police say entered the United States through Rio Grande City, Texas, as an unaccompanied minor in March 2022.
Following his apprehension, the illegal border crosser was transferred to Maryland while in the custody of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), as is the protocol for minors from non-contagious countries—such as El Salvador.
Currently, minors apprehended stay in the custody of ORR and are typically placed with a sponsor and released into the United States.
The committee’s investigation uncovered that the minor arrested for Hamilton’s murder was detained in El Salvador for “illicit association” with MS-13, which was verified by contacting El Salvadorian officials.
This was also confirmed by the presence of gang tattoos, something that was not disclosed in the illegal immigrant’s case file being held by HHS.
In addition, the report states that his case file contains notations stating that he had no behavioral issues and “demonstrated good judgment and age-appropriate behaviors.”
The minor is accused of strangling Hamilton to death.
“The Biden administration’s open-borders policies are dangerous and do not prioritize the safety of American citizens,” the committee’s report stated.
“The Department of Homeland Security is failing to perform even the most basic of measures to ensure that the aliens entering the United States are not dangerous criminals or known gang members.
“The Biden administration’s disregard for the safety of Americans directly resulted in the tragic and—sadly, preventable—murder of Kayla Hamilton.”
Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
