Rep. Troy E. Nehls Sends Third Letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Regarding Venezuelan Prisoners
WASHINGTON, D.C. —Congressman Troy E. Nehls (R-TX-22) sent a third letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding violent criminals being released from Venezuela from prisons, embedding themselves into migrant caravans, and traversing into the United States. Congressmen Byron Donalds (R-FL-19), Randy Weber (R-TX-14), and Pete Stauber (R-MN-08) joined Congressman Nehls in sending this letter to Secretary Mayorkas, urging him to prevent Venezuelans from entering the interior, deport those who have been released into the country pending immigration proceedings, and imploring him to initiate a complete and total moratorium on all Venezuelan migration until Venezuela agrees to cooperate with deportation requests.
In September 2022, Congressmen Nehls and 13 of his colleagues sent a letter to Secretary Mayorkas regarding a report received by the Border Patrol that instructed agents to look for violent criminals from Venezuela entering the United States. The report received by the Border Patrol allegedly indicated that the Venezuelan regime, under the control of Nicolás Maduro Moros, was releasing violent criminals from prison early, including inmates convicted of “murder, rape, and extortion.”
Again, in February 2024, Congressman Nehls and three of his colleagues sent a follow-up letter to Secretary Mayorkas following the brutal murder of Laken Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia, who was attacked while on a run by a Venezuelan national who was paroled into the United States in September 2022 after entering the United States illegally and had been arrested at least once before. In the letter, Congressman Nehls and his colleagues urged Secretary Mayorkas to prevent Venezuelans from entering the United States and immediately deport those who have been released pending immigration proceedings. Congressman Nehls and his colleagues still have not received a response from Secretary Mayorkas.
In March and May of 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration released two Venezuelan nationals into the United States after they illegally crossed the border, despite U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention beds being available in migrant detention centers. Those two Venezuelan nationals went on to assault and murder 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston, Texas.
“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 Congressman Nehls. “How many more Americans have to die at the hands of illegal aliens before the Biden-Harris Administration takes my letters seriously? If the Biden-Harris 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. Joe Biden, ‘Border Czar’ Kamala Harris, and Secretary Mayorkas continue to put the American people last, and the blood of every American who has died due to crimes committed by illegal aliens who shouldn’t even be in our country in the first place is on their hands.”
Read the full letter HERE or below:
Dear Secretary Mayorkas,
We write to you with grave concerns regarding violent criminals from Venezuela being released from prisons, embedding themselves into migrant caravans, and traversing into the United States.
For nearly two years, we have written to you about this extremely concerning situation. In September 2022, our first letter highlighted an intelligence report received by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that agents needed to be on alert for violent criminals from Venezuela among migrant caravans headed to the U.S.- Mexico border. This report stemmed from a report that the Venezuelan government began releasing violent prisoners who committed “murder, rape, and extortion” and encouraged them to join migrant caravans headed to the United States. We warned you that the threat was very real and implored you to take action.
Having received no response, we again wrote to you in February 2024, and explained that our unheeded warnings had come to pass, with Venezuelan migrant gangs having established themselves in our cities and multiple murders and sexual assaults having been committed by Venezuelan migrants. To date, we have yet to receive a response or acknowledgement of any of these letters.
Given our previous letters to you, DHS had full notice of the threat posed by Venezuelan aliens, and you cannot feign ignorance. Despite your awareness of the threat, in March and May of this year, DHS released two Venezuelan nationals into the interior after they had illegally crossed the border, even though there were thousands of beds available in migrant detention centers. Those two Venezuelan nationals went on to murder a 12-year-old girl in Houston named Jocelyn Nungaray, who was described as a “smart, loving, nurturing young lady.” These criminal illegal aliens that you released into our country took that little girl under a bridge, sexually assaulted and tortured her for over two hours, then strangled her to death before dumping her body in a bayou like garbage. 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 is, frankly, unconscionable.
We are once again seeking to have our questions answered from our September 2022 letter, we continue to urge you to prevent Venezuelans from entering our interior, and immediately deport those you have released pending immigration proceedings. Finally, in the strongest of terms, we implore you to initiate a complete and total moratorium on all Venezuelan migration until they agree to cooperate with deportation requests. Americans have suffered enough at the hands of the Biden Administration.
Thank you for your attention to this serious matter, and we look forward to your prompt response.