The chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees are pressing the Obama administration on how a previously deported illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record — now charged with murdering five people — was able to evade deportation for years.
Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino, an illegal immigrant from Mexico with numerous criminal convictions, was charged last week with the murder of five people in Kansas City, Kansas and Montgomery County, Missouri.
”On at least two occasions, ICE was notified of Serrano-Vitorino’s arrests, but for various reasons, did not take custody of him,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA). “It appears that there was a systemic failure to effectively communicate between ICE and local law enforcement entities, allowing Serrano-Vitorino to evade removal by taking advantage of at least one sanctuary jurisdiction and weak immigration enforcement policies.”
The lawmakers noted that, according to ICE, Serrano-Vitorino initially entered the U.S. illegally in 1993 but was deported following a number of crimes in April, 2004. Following his removal, he re-entered the country illegally that same month but was returned to Mexico by Border Patrol. He returned illegally again in 2007.
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