KTTH OPINION

Rantz: ICE Seattle nabs child sex criminals as migrant crime concerns persist

Feb 28, 2024, 5:05 AM | Updated: 5:16 am

Image: A person gets led away in handcuffs by members of law enforcement. Migrant crime concerns pe...

A person gets led away in handcuffs by members of law enforcement. Migrant crime concerns persist in Washington and across the U.S. (Photo courtesy of ICE Seattle)

(Photo courtesy of ICE Seattle)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Seattle arrested five illegal immigrants convicted of child exploitation crimes last month, fueling migrant crime concerns. This month, they nabbed another two who have enjoyed Washington’s sanctuary state privileges.

Amongst those nabbed by ICE is a 53-year-old from El Salvador living in Tacoma. The unidentified man was convicted of felony child molestation in the first degree, child molestation in the second degree, and rape of a child in the third degree. Another sex predator is a 24-year-old from Mexico who was living in Fife. He was convicted of possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

“Noncitizens who commit repugnant acts at the expense of children will not be allowed to claim our great nation as their home,” ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Seattle Field Office Director Drew Bostock said in a statement. “The arrests ERO Seattle made during this national operation are an example of the constant contributions we make locally to keep the U.S. safe from child predators.”

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Migrant crime crisis over perverse crimes

The ERO team conducted the initial effort from Jan. 16-28. The team is tasked with domestic immigration enforcement against criminal illegal immigrants flaunting our laws. Nationwide, there were 171 illegal immigrants arrested during the effort.

In a press release, ICE provided the following additional details on the four others who were arrested:

  • A 42-year-old citizen of Mexico in Moses Lake who was convicted of dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
  • A 39-year-old citizen of Mexico in Federal Way who was convicted of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
  • A 69-year-old citizen of Mexico in Yakima who was convicted of dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
  • A 58-year-old citizen of Mexico in Yakima who was convicted of child molestation in the first degree, child molestation in the second degree, and rape of a child in the third degree.

The team again conducted efforts from Feb. 5-16, arresting 12 noncitizens with sex offense-related convictions, mostly out of Oregon. ICE Seattle highlighted a local case, in addition to the Fife child pervert, a 23-year-old citizen of Mexico in Spokane who was convicted of felony rape by the Superior Court of Washington for Spokane County.

These are sex predators who should not be in this country, let alone in the state of Washington. But we’re asking them to come with sanctuary policies they know benefits them.

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Some illegal immigrants do want to commit crimes here, despite what Democrats say

The migrant crime crisis is Democrat-created. When you tell illegal immigrants you will protect them from deportation, while offering them job protections and promises of unemployment benefits and other taxpayer subsidized benefits, guess what happens? Migrants show up. And they’re not all looking for a better life.

In fiscal year 2023, ICE Seattle says, nationwide, the larger agency arrested 73,822 noncitizens with criminal histories. There were 290,178 associated charges and convictions spread across that group with an average of four charges per illegal immigrant. The charges included 33,209 assaults, 4,390 sex and sexual assaults, 7,520 weapons offenses, 1,713 charges or convictions for homicide, and 1,655 kidnapping offenses, according to ICE Seattle.

Instead of highlighting the clear threat posed by illegal immigrants, Democrats downplay crimes. They won’t even admit that fentanyl freely flows over the porous southern border. Bad faith partisans, like Seattle U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, pretend data proves illegal immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. But as I outline in great detail in my book, the only way they get that data point is by relying on the fact that immigration status is neither checked, saved, or reported on the local level.

Sanctuary policies invite a Washington migrant crime crisis

Democrats turned Washington into a sanctuary in 2019, extending protections even to those who commit crimes while here, which include shielding them from federal immigration enforcement. They make no efforts to differentiate between illegal immigrants coming here for a better life and illegal immigrants who flagrantly violate the laws, even when kids are the victims. Instead, they use the issue to paint Republican critics of sanctuary laws as xenophobes. Democrats purposefully use the language “immigrants,” when discussing illegal immigrants to try to conflate the two.

What’s startling is that Democrats won’t even agree that criminals should be deported. They think criticizing one illegal immigrant, means you’re critical of all immigrants (those who are in this country illegally and those who are not). But thanks to Republican-led efforts, that’s starting to change.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is now calling for his sanctuary city laws to be updated to allow for deportation of illegal immigrants who commit felonies. After an influx of unvetted migrants, New York has been under siege with scores of resources being used on people in this country illegally, at the expense of taxpayers. And the migrant crime crisis is causing a political nightmare and public safety crisis across the city. Similar problems in Chicago, Denver, Washington, D.C., and other Democrat-run cities has catapulted illegal immigration into the No. 1 issue heading into the November election.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as TwitterInstagram and Facebook.

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