U.S. Representative Ken Calvert (R-Corona), along with three of his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives, has penned a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding an explanation for the decrease in prosecutions of repeat offender illegal immigrants. According to a press release issued by Calvert's office on March 19, the Central District of California saw a significant drop in such prosecutions, from 188 cases in 2018 to merely five last year.
"When it comes to the Biden Administration's application of the law, Americans deserve answers,” the congressman said in the release," said Calvert. "With record numbers of people illegally crossing our border every day, it simply doesn't make sense that there would be fewer people trying to reenter our country after being previously deported. The blatant disregard of our federal laws by illegal immigrants and the lack of enforcement by our nation's court system is just another example of President Biden's open-border policies that have created the humanitarian and national security crisis we see at the border and in every community across the country,” he said."
Calvert highlighted that in 2023, an estimated 2.5 million illegal immigrants entered the country. He referred to the federal law, specifically 8 U.S.C. 1326, which criminalizes any individual who re-enters the U.S. without proper authorization after they have been formally deported, excluded, or removed.
In their correspondence with Garland, Calvert and fellow California legislators John S. Duarte, Michelle Steel, and Jay Obernolte pointed out that some of these illegal immigrants are convicted criminals. "It has come to our attention that the DOJ has been systematically reducing the prosecution of illegal immigrants previously deported who have a criminal violation," they wrote.
The letter also reveals that these four members of Congress are seeking information related to the number of prosecutions under 8 U.S.C. 1326 – Reentry of removed aliens across all U.S. federal courts in California from 2018 to 2023. They are also requesting details about any prosecution guidelines issued by U.S. attorneys concerning prosecutions under this statute during the same period.