WASHINGTON – Eight Missouri Republicans, all representing a state U.S. Congress seat, sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday seeking answers about Venezuelan-based gang members and urging stronger immigration enforcement measures.
Missouri U.S. Rep. Sam Graves led the letter, which also included signatures from Missouri U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, among others.
The letter highlight’s the group’s concerns over the Biden administration’s handling of immigration enforcement. It references a traffic stop on Oct. 25, 2024 in Clinton County, Missouri.
The letter, along with a news release from Graves, indicates that two people involved in that traffic stop were identified as Venezuelan nationals with alleged ties to the Tren de Aragua gang, but they were later released.
The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office tells FOX 2 that when deputies initially stopped the vehicle and identified the individuals, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had placed detainers on the two. About half an hour later, Clinton County authorities received a call informing them that the individuals could not be deported because Venezuela refused to accept them, thus the two individuals were released from custody.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Treasury has identified Tren de Aragua as a “transitional criminal organization.”
The letter questions the release of the two individuals with alleged gang ties in the Missouri traffic stop.
“We write to you today to express our deep and growing concern regarding your administration’s refusal to hold Venezuela accountable for unacceptable delays in the removal process for illegal immigrants. These delays, sometimes indefinite, not only give the appearance that a foreign nation is being allowed to dictate the enforcement of U.S. immigration law, but also put our communities at risk,” the letter reads in part.
The letter further urges the Biden Administration to resume the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy, which required asylum seekers to wait outside the United States while their immigration cases were pending. That policy ended in 2022.
The letter was signed by Graves, Hawley and Schmitt, along with Missouri U.S. Reps. Mark Alford, Eric Burlison, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jason Smith and Ann Wagner.