On Sunday, presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders opined that it was “not appropriate” to deport illegal aliens even if they have broken a law more serious than illegal entry into the U.S. While that may earn Sanders more Democratic votes when the primary rolls around, it comes as cold comfort to 41-year-old Juan Rojas-Rodriguez. A Mexican national and convicted child molester who had previously been deported, Rojas-Rodriguez was apprehended last Wednesday night near Yuma, Ariz. attempting to re-enter the U.S. illegally. This time he was allegedly traveling with a group of so-called “family units” from Guatemala.
According to ABC 15:
Agents say Rodriguez was convicted in California in 1996 for having sex with a girl younger than 14 years old.
He was originally deported in 2008 after officials found him in a federal prison in California, CBP said in a news release.
While the media and Democratic lawmakers repeatedly play down stories like this, insisting that they are outliers, the problem of criminal aliens returning to the U.S. and committing fresh acts of violence after being deported is a serious one. In April alone, three deportees returned to commit heinous crimes that in two cases amounted to murder (see here and here).
