A "revolving immigration door with dangerous consequences" is how critics are describing the July 4 shooting which resulted in the death of a grandmother in Exchange Street, Lawrence, Mass. Suspects Wilton Lara-Calmona and Jose M. Lara-Mejia, both from the Dominican Republic, and 22-year-old Christopher Paganmoux from Boston were arrested by police investigating the death of 41-year-old Mirta Rivera, a nurse killed by a gunshot fired from a ceiling from an upstairs apartment, where the three suspects were staying.
After the arrest, previous records of two of the suspects were exposed through the Immigration and Customs Enforcement records reviewed by the Herald. Records show that 38-year-old Lara-Calmona was deported in April 2012 and was arrested in November last year for re-entering the country. Thiry-five-year-old Lara-Mejia was arrested in August 2013 for crossing the border and ordered for deportation in April 2014 but illegally stayed inside the country.
"Lara-Mejia was ordered removed by a federal immigration judge on April 9, 2014, after failing to appear before the immigration court. He was considered an ICE fugitive until his July 4, 2015, arrest by local authorities in Lawrence, Massachusetts," said Shawn Neudauer, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) spokesman, according to Boston Herald.
Critics believe that the Obama administration, which has imposed immigration laws such as two-year imprisonment for illegal re-entry and 10 years for those with felony crime, is encouraging officials to look at crime involving illegals to be lighter than being preventable.
"Basically we're hanging a huge 'welcome back,' sign for them. Illegal immigrants who have already been deported see a reason to come back because they are not afraid of immigration enforcement once they get here," said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies with the Center for Immigration Studies, according to the Daily Mail.
Lara-Mejia and Lara-Calmona's case are just some of the many avoided deportation cases under the Obama administration, according to The Washington Times. The murder took place just days after the death of Kathryn Steinle, who was shot in San Francisco allegedly by an illegal immigrant who had been deported fives times put was still in the country due to the city's sanctuary policy.
