TOMS RIVER-The rape and murder of a woman in Jersey City by an illegal immigrant who was deported twice, highlights the dangers of sanctuary cities within our state, Senator Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and Dave Wolfe (all R-10) today said.
The lawmakers, outraged by this preventable tragedy, released the following statement sounding off on the threat to public safety caused by sanctuary cities:
“Sanctuary cities jeopardize the safety of millions of our residents, and the life of a young woman has been taken away because our state chooses to arrogantly disregard federal law,” said Senator Holzapfel. “We must not allow criminals, such as Rios to slip through the cracks in our immigration system.”
Jorge Rios, of Honduras, entered the country illegally and was deported on two prior occasions in 2003 and 2004. He was charged with the murder of a woman who was jogging in Jersey City and faces 30 years in prison before he is deported yet again.
“Now this illegal immigrant will have his taxpayer-funded day in court with a taxpayer-funded lawyer where he will end up in a taxpayer-funded prison for years before being deported for a third time,” stated Assemblyman McGuckin. “This man should have never been in our country in the first place.”
Recently the legislators have expressed their opposition to a bill (S-3229/A-4743) which would allow the State to issue a driver’s license to persons who are “unable to prove lawful presence in the United States.”
The legislation is part of Governor Phil Murphy’s effort to turn New Jersey into a sanctuary state.
“Jorge Rios is yet another example of how the Democrats in our state pursue their political agenda at the expense of an innocent, law-abiding citizen,” added Assemblyman Wolfe.
