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The House recently conducted a hearing where families impacted by crimes attributed to illegal immigration shared their harrowing stories. The crisis at the southern border has led to millions of illegal immigrants entering the United States, with many released as authorities struggled with overwhelming numbers. Voter concerns over illegal immigration have intensified, underscored by numerous high-profile crimes allegedly committed by individuals without legal authorization to be in the country.

Among the most disturbing incidents was the March arrest of Haitian illegal immigrant Jean Robert Macean for the stabbing deaths of a married couple in Florida. The couple was participating in a Bike Week event when they were killed. Macean was later found incompetent to stand trial. Another tragic case in July involved the rape and murder of 22-year-old autistic woman Kayla Hamilton in her mobile home. Police arrested a 17-year-old El Salvadoran linked to the MS-13 gang, who had been released into the U.S. to his aunt's custody after being encountered at the border.

In another case that drew national attention, Guatemalan illegal immigrant Gerson Fuentes was arrested in July for the rape of a 9-year-old girl, who had to travel to Indiana for an abortion due to stricter laws in Ohio. In August, two Mexican nationals, Alder Alfonso Marin Sotelo and Arturo Marin Sotelo, were charged with the murder of Wake County K9 Deputy Ned Byrd in North Carolina. Both had entered the U.S. illegally, with Arturo previously deported in 2010 but re-entering the country.

Other incidents include the October attack on Paul Pelosi by Canadian illegal immigrant David DePape, who overstayed his visa after entering the U.S. in 2008. Another attack in October involved Guatemalan illegal immigrant Yoni Barrios, who allegedly stabbed eight people in Las Vegas, killing two. Around the same time in California, Salvadoran national Carlos Dominguez was charged with multiple stabbings, including two fatal attacks on men and an attack on a homeless woman.

In Texas, Mexican national Francisco Oropesa Perez-Torrez stands accused of murdering five people in his neighbor’s home in April. He had been deported five times between 2009 and 2016. In May, Salvadoran illegal immigrant Jose Roberto Hernandez-Espinal was arrested for allegedly raping a woman and a 15-year-old girl. In Virginia, a Honduran national was arrested in June for attempting to abduct a 4-year-old girl from an apartment.

The violent crimes continued with the arrest of a Venezuelan migrant in August for allegedly raping a woman in front of their 3-year-old child in New York. Also, in September, Mexican national Juan Vicente Zavala Lopez, who had been deported nine times, allegedly shot a police officer following the killing of his roommate in Texas.

In December, multiple high-profile cases emerged, including the stabbing of 16-year-old Lizbeth Medina by Mexican national Rafael Govea Romero in Texas, and the arrest of Salvadoran illegal immigrant Jose Guadalupe Menjivar-Alas for killing a mother and son in a drunk driving incident in Colorado. The same month, Jose Santiago Chairez was charged with the shooting deaths of two sisters in Dallas and the wounding of his daughter.

Further cases included Alonzo Pierre Mingo, charged with three counts of second-degree murder in Minneapolis in January, and the beating of a police officer by a mob of illegal immigrants in New York City. Lastly, in February, nursing student Laken Riley was allegedly beaten to death by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra while jogging on the University of Georgia campus.

These heart-wrenching stories have reinforced the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform and effective law enforcement measures to prevent such tragedies in the future.