President Joe Biden's order allowing an easier pathway to citizenship for people married to a U.S. citizen came just days after the arrest of an immigrant in connection with the 2023 rape and murder of a Maryland mother of five, and Rep. Andy Harris, who represents her district, told Newsmax on Wednesday that Biden's actions are putting Americans in danger.
"In this community in Harford County, this kind of violent crime, heinous crime, rarely, if ever, occurs," the Maryland Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "They're very upset. They know their sheriff has been warning for years that although the border is 1,800 miles away, that's affecting the community."
Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, arrested El Salvador citizen Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez in a local bar last Friday night, reports CNN. He was initially taken in on a trespassing charge, but officers running his information discovered he was wanted in connection in connection with the rape and murder of Rachel Morin, who was killed along a hiking trail in August 2023.
Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said Martinez-Hernandez is suspected of multiple crimes after illegally crossing the border into the United States in February 2023, as well as in El Salvador, where he is suspected of killing a young woman in January 2023.
Harris told Newsmax that Biden's policies have allowed fentanyl to come across the border, killing "tens of thousands of Americans," and with the murder of Morin and other crimes, like the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, "this president is letting in people who are dangerous to America."
Biden's action Tuesday could allow upwards of a half-million immigrants to remain in the United States, and Harris said he wants to know how many crossed the border illegally, like the suspect in the Maryland case.
"What we're doing is we're going to reward people for coming into our country illegally with a pathway to citizenship," the congressman said. "This is ridiculous. There is a legal pathway to citizenship in the United States. It's not crossing our border illegally and then marrying a U.S. citizen."
Harris added that former President Donald Trump, if elected this fall, will "go back to the law as it's defined by Congress … that's why Americans realize he's the solution to the border problem."
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas touted Biden's record on immigration Tuesday, and Harris called that the "bottom line" for why Republicans voted to impeach him.
"If he thinks letting 10 million people across the border illegally is a lawful way to enter the country, I mean, they're redefining what lawful is," he said. "We only hear about the most heinous crimes. We're not hearing about the Venezuelan drug gangs that are being let in, the MS-13 [gang] members who are being let in … this is permeating every community in America. It has to stop."
Meanwhile, Harford County, Maryland is only one hour from Washington, D.C., and Harris said he can give Biden directions to come and meet with the Morin family to express his condolences in person.
"He's not going to do that," he added. "This is the logical result of keeping an open southern border, and he knows it. Americans know it, and they're disgusted by it."
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