Congressman Ivey Statement on the Dacara Thompson Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. -Congressman Glenn Ivey (MD-04) released the following statement on the Dacara Thompson case.

Our community's collective heart is broken, and my deepest sympathy goes to the family of Dacara Thompson as they face the unimaginable loss of their loved one. She went missing just weeks ago, and now a suspect is under arrest for her murder.

As a former prosecutor, I know how critical it is that we hold violent offenders accountable. The suspect, Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, had previously been arrested by federal law enforcement, yet ICE failed to request a detainer or take action while he was in custody. That failure allowed him to remain free-and now a family is left grieving a terrible loss.

This is exactly the problem we have been warning about. Instead of targeting pastors at hardware stores, kids at baseball camps, or longtime neighbors who are simply working to provide for their families, enforcement resources must be directed at criminal defendants who pose real threats to public safety. That is where our focus should be, getting violent offenders off the streets. Republican hypocrisy is both jeopardizing public safety and tearing well-meaning families apart.

Just as important, justice must be delivered here. Deporting suspects before they are prosecuted and punished, as we have seen under the Trump administration, denies families the accountability and closure they deserve. Whether it was sending MS-13 gang leaders facing RICO indictments in the Eastern District of New York, back to El Salvador before trial or trying to deport individuals before they have been prosecuted in U.S. courts, puts political theater ahead of public safety and justice.

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