Cassidy, Ernst, Colleagues Introduce Sarah’s Law to Close Migrant Crime Loophole

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Republican colleagues introduced Sarah's Law to honor the memory of Sarah Root and amend the mandatory detention provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act to require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants criminally charged with killing or seriously injuring another person.

"If a drunk American had killed someone while driving three times over the legal drinking limit, they would not have been set free. Why are illegal immigrants being treated differently?" said Dr. Cassidy. "Sarah's death was terrible. Her family not getting justice is unacceptable."

"Sarah Root had her entire life ahead of her before it was senselessly taken by someone who never should have been in this country," said Senator Ernst. "Her family has been forced to endure a living nightmare without closure because a glaring loophole in the law has allowed her killer to remain on the run for nearly nine years. For years, I have worked tirelessly to pass Sarah's Law to honor her memory, hold illegal immigrants that cause bodily harm to our citizens accountable, and ensure this never happens again. I will not give up this fight for justice, because our laws should not prioritize illegal immigrants over the safety of Americans."

"This law is to make sure no other family has to go through what our family has. We are coming up on 9 years since our beautiful Sarah was taken from us and there is no reason this law shouldn't have passed within that time. Sarah's killer is still on the run and if this law was in place when she was killed, we wouldn't be looking for her killer today - he would be in custody and serving his time," said Sarah's mother, Michelle Root.

Sarah's Law will work in tandem with the Laken Riley Act to close loopholes in federal law that have caused a regular occurrence of innocent Americans falling victim to crimes committed by illegal immigrants. It also requires that upon encountering an illegal immigrant subject to mandatory detention, ICE must make reasonable efforts to identify victims and inform their families of certain information.

Cassidy and Ernst were joined by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Katie Britt (R-AL), James Lankford (R-OK), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Tim Scott (R-SC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Jim Risch (R-ID), John Curtis (R-UT), Rick Scott (R-FL), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and John Kennedy (R-LA) in introducing this legislation.

Background:

On January 31, 2016, the night of her college graduation, Sarah Root, a 21-year-old from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was struck and killed by an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk - three times over the legal limit. Due to a loophole in federal law, her killer, Edwin Mejia, was released on bond and never seen again.

Cassidy cosponsored the Laken Riley Act both this year and last Congress as well and calling for its immediate consideration.

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