Goodlatte requests information on horrific rape of young girl at Rockville High School

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to provide information on the two suspects who allegedly raped a young girl at Rockville High School in Rockville, Maryland.

Last Thursday, Jose Montano, 17, from El Salvador, and Henry Sanchez-Milian, 18, from Guatemala, allegedly forced a 14-year-old female student into a restroom at her school and subsequently raped and sodomized her. It is reported that Border Patrol agents encountered Sanchez-Milian entering the United States illegally though the Rio Grande Valley sector in August 2016 and that he was issued a notice to appear in immigration court but the hearing date had not been set. Sanchez-Milian’s entrance into the United States coincides with the surge of unaccompanied minors from Central America that flooded the Southwest border during the Obama Administration seeking to benefit from lax immigration enforcement.

In the letter, Chairman Goodlatte commends Secretary Kelly for his commitment to enforcing immigration laws and calls on the Department of Homeland Security to provide the immigration and criminal histories of Montano and Sanchez-Milian. Goodlatte also calls on Secretary Kelly to provide any legislative changes needed to better enforce immigration laws and protect Americans from unlawful immigrants who commit crimes in the United States.

Below is the text of the letter. The signed letter can be found here.

March 22, 2017
The Honorable John F. Kelly
Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528

Dear Secretary Kelly:

I write to request information surrounding the horrific sexual assault that reportedly occurred at Rockville High School in Rockville, MD, last Thursday.  According to press reports, Jose O. Montano, 17, from El Salvador, and Henry E. Sanchez-Milian, 18, from Guatemala, forced a 14-year-old female student into a restroom at the school and subsequently raped and sodomized her.

And those same reports have noted that the Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged that Border Patrol agents encountered Sanchez-Milian entering the United States illegally in August 2016, through the Rio Grande Valley.  Apparently he was issued a notice to appear in immigration court, but no hearing date had yet been set.

Once again, we have an example of how the Obama Administration’s lax immigration enforcement policies resulted in a life being seriously harmed – in this case, the life of an innocent 14 year-old-girl who was simply attending school.

There is no doubt that such heinous crimes by illegal immigrants who were encountered by the Obama Administration, not removed by the Obama Administration, and instead actually set free in American communities by the Obama Administration, will continue to occur until sufficient enforcement has occurred.

You have continuously stated your commitment to such enforcement, and I appreciate that commitment.  Systematic and steady immigration enforcement is key to protecting American communities from dangerous criminals entering the country and committing crimes, and to ensuring that all foreign nationals understand that if they choose to put themselves in danger to make the long, and many times expensive, journey to the U.S., they will no longer be assured of being able to stay.  Systematic and steady enforcement is the best deterrent to illegal immigration.  As proof, we need look no further than the success your policy changes are already having at the Southwest border.  I was happy to see, per your press release last month, that border apprehensions were down 40 percent.  And I was even more pleased when President Trump updated that number yesterday to 61 percent.  Again – this is proof that enforcement is a deterrent to illegal immigration.  I commend you for your commitment to enforcing the law and for your progress thus far to deter illegal immigration.

Perhaps if Sanchez-Milian had known he would likely be deported, he would not have come to the U.S. and the 14-year-old high school student would not have been assaulted.

That said, please provide case history information regarding Jose O. Montano and Henry E. Sanchez-Milian, including but not limited to:

1. The complete alien file (A-file), including any temporary files, working files, or Service Center files, and all documents and items contained in them, all reports or notifications generated by DHS or in its possession about him, whether currently in written or electronic form, including, but not limited to, the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Executive Summary, criminal history or immigration summaries, detainers or requests for notification, I-213(s), and Notice(s) to Appear or other charging documents created to seek his removal from the United States.
2. Each and every date on which the individuals were encountered by a law enforcement agency in the United States, to include criminal and civil arrests, the nature of the charge, the jurisdiction where the arrest occurred, the disposition of that charge, the date(s) on which he was released from the custody of that law enforcement agency, and the reason(s) for the release.  Please provide the arrest and disposition documentation for each encounter.
3. How and when did each individual enter the United States?  Was each ever served with a Notice to Appear?  If so, was it filed with an immigration court?  Please explain.
4. Did either individual ever apply for any immigration benefits, including deferred action?  If so, was any application approved?  Please provide copies of any applications that they may have submitted, whether or not adjudicated.
5. Has either individual been removed previously?  If so, when?
6. Has ICE issued a detainer or request for notification to any entity regarding either individual?  Please explain.
7. Is either individual a member of, or associated with, any criminal gang?  Please explain.

As you know, Privacy Act protections do not apply to this request made in my capacity as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

In addition, please explain what steps you are currently taking to prevent individuals like Montano and Sanchez-Milian from victimizing the American public.

Lastly, as Chairman of the Committee of jurisdiction over immigration enforcement, my agenda includes providing legislative and other resources that would aid your mission to enforce immigration laws and prevent criminal aliens from having access to our communities, including our schools.  In that vein, please provide me any such legislative changes that your Department would like to see to current immigration law.

Please respond to this request by April 5, 2017. If you have any questions about this request, please contact Andrea Loving, Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, at (202) 225-3926. Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Bob Goodlatte
Chairman