Last week, illegal alien and convicted child rapist Juan Ramon Vasquez pled guilty to illegal reentry, adding another two years to his eight to 20 year sentence for child rape.
The background to the Vasquez matter is that after he was initially deported in 2009, Vasquez made his way back into the country in 2014. The City of Philadelphia—a self-declared sanctuary city—later arrested Vasquez, but did not comply with an ICE detainer put on Vasquez and he was ultimately released into the city after unrelated criminal charges were dropped.
In 2015, following his release and the failure by Philadelphia to cooperate with the ICE detainer, Vasquez raped a child, who also happened to be a family member, a crime for which he was later apprehended and convicted.
Still, as the matter was well known, earlier this summer, Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Governor nominee John Fetterman called cities like Philadelphia “a rightful sanctuary for a lot of these immigrants.”
You can view the video HERE.
Here is a transcript of the remarks made in the video:
Question: Do you believe that we need to get rid of ICE to work on our immigration policy? To fix it?
Fetterman: You know, throughout my campaign we were well out in front of the immigration issue in this country. Gov. Wolf has done everything he can and continues to do everything he can to close down the Berks County detention facility. I was proud to say that I was the only candidate for Lt. Governor to attend a protest—I believe it was back in March—before this thing really took off. My wife is a former Dreamer. You know, immigration and the way we are treating these families is an outrage. I think we, from my perspective, as a country, need to remember that immigration is what help made this country great and the way the Trump administration and, presumably, the way Scott Wagner would treat these kinds of families and people in Pennsylvania is profoundly unAmerican.
Question: So you would not push to abolish ICE?
Fetterman: Well, it’s something…We are leaders on immigration reform right now. It’s something that’s very…Gov. Wolf is using every asset at his disposal to shut the Berks County family detention center down. I firmly believe the cities across Pennsylvania remain a rightful sanctuary for a lot of these immigrants and a place of refuge for families across Pennsylvania.
According to a poll, 80 percent of voters oppose sanctuary cities.
Tom Wolf has noted “concerns” with legislation in Pennsylvania that would hold sanctuary cities accountable for their dangerous behavior and ban the ability of municipalities to label themselves as sanctuaries for illegal aliens.
According to data provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement 90 percent of the illegal aliens they arrest have a past or pending criminal conviction.
In response, Republican Party of Pennsylvania Communications Director Jason Gottesman, made the following statement:
“By their record and their on-the-record comments, Tom Wolf and John Fetterman seem more concerned with protecting illegal aliens than protecting Pennsylvania citizens.
“Do Tom Wolf and John Fetterman believe that Philadelphia—and other sanctuary municipalities across Pennsylvania—should be a rightful sanctuary and place of refuge for illegal aliens like Juan Ramon Vasquez, who was able to commit an atrocity as a direct result of sanctuary city policies?
“In the wake of the Vasquez’s new guilty plea, it is incumbent on these candidates to readdress where they stand and reassert whether they prioritize the well-being of illegal aliens or the safety of Pennsylvanians.”
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