Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson acknowledged to Congress on Tuesday that it had been a "tragic" mistake for his department to grant a temporary amnesty to Emmanuel Jesus Rangel, an illegal immigrant accused of murdering four people in North Carolina,
The Washington Times reported.
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Johnson acknowledged that more than 280 other illegals besides Rangel have had their amnesties revoked because of gang activity or criminal behavior.
More than 600,000 people have been approved for that program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), of whom 282 were kicked out because of gang affiliations or criminal convictions.
DACA, an amnesty program established by President Barack Obama in 2012, benefits illegal immigrants brought to the United States as young children, who are often referred to as "Dreamers." The program provides temporary legal status and work permits to members of this group, who are regarded as the most sympathetic cases in the debate over how to handle illegals who have already entered the United States.
As many as 5 million additional illegal immigrants would be eligible to benefit from Obama's expanded amnesty announced last year, which would add more people to DACA and create a program benefiting illegal immigrant parents.
During his grilling by the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Johnson conceded that mistakes had occurred in implementing DACA, but said the Department of Homeland Security was working to correct them as it prepares to implement the much larger amnesty program Obama announced in November.
Key members of the Senate were unpersuaded. Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, joined North Carolina Republican Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis this week in introducing legislation that would bar anyone with gang ties from getting amnesty or other immigration benefits.
"It's unfortunate that an act of Congress is required to explicitly prevent the federal government from providing safe haven to criminal gang members, but it's clear that the current policies and practices are not working," Grassley said.
"Just today, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said known membership in a criminal gang 'should constitute as a disqualifier from DACA,' yet an agency that he oversees has granted DACA to known criminals or criminal gang members at least 282 times."
Rangel is
accused of killing four people in a three-day rampage in February, one of whom had been a contestant on the "America's Next Top Model" TV program. Three were found slain inside a Charlotte home, and two other victims were found shot, one fatally, inside a car in a motel parking lot.
Rangel had been slated for deportation after facing criminal charges, but was released from custody and granted amnesty two years ago under DACA despite having known gang ties.
After being pressured by Grassley, Homeland Security officials acknowledged that they had made a mistake and rescinded his amnesty. That occurred a month after the killings.
"This case is a tragic case, and he should not have received DACA," Johnson said.
The secretary "said the bungle came at the background check unit that is supposed to look into potential criminal ties for all amnesty applicants," The Times reported. This suggests that the unit missed Rangel's gang history "even though it was noted in the database that they were supposed to be using."
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