(Texas Scorecard) – U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls has sent a third letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding violent criminals being released from prisons, embedding themselves into migrant caravans, and coming into the United States.
According to a press release on Friday, the letter, co-signed by U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Randy Weber (R-14), and Pete Stauber (R-MN) pressed Mayorkas to stop Venezuelans from entering the United States, deport those released into the country who are awaiting immigration proceedings, and implored him to initiate a complete and total moratorium on all Venezuelan immigration until Venezuela agrees to cooperate with deportation requests.
“Time after time, I have urged Secretary Mayorkas to protect the American people from the danger posed by violent criminals from Venezuela who are entering our country,” said Nehls. “How many more Americans have to die at the hands of illegal aliens before the Biden-Harris Administration takes my letters seriously?”
In September 2022, Nehls, joined by 13 of his colleagues, sent a letter to Mayorkas regarding Border Patrol reports alleging that the Venezuelan regime under Nicolás Maduro Moros was releasing violent criminals from prison early, including inmates convicted of “murder, rape, and extortion.”
Without getting a response, Nehls sent a second letter to Secretary Mayorkas in February 2024, explaining that Venezuelan gangs were in U.S. cities and had committed multiple murders and sexual assaults.
Still, having received no response, Nehls wrote again to Secretary Mayorkas on Thursday, stating that despite awareness of the threat posed by the Venezuelan aliens, DHS released two Venezuelan nationals into the country in March and May of this year, even though beds were available in detention centers, a practice which Nehls and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz have since introduced legislation to prevent.
Those two Venezuelan nationals reportedly went on to sexually assault, torture, and murder a 12-year-old girl in Houston named Jocelyn Nungaray.
“If you had heeded the warnings in our prior letters, Jocelyn Nungaray, and others, could still be alive. That is not a matter of opinion. It is a fact. Your catastrophic border policy and callous disregard for the safety of Americans, frankly, is unconscionable,” the third letter stated.
In an X post on Friday, Nehls said, “If this administration truly cared about the safety of the American people, they would take action to prevent violent criminals from entering our country and deport those who have been released into our homeland, especially bad hombres from Venezuela.”