Americans affected and victimized by illegal aliens are getting their time in the spotlight under President Donald Trump.
Trump brought relatives of victims to several appearances during his election campaign last year, and his first speech to a special joint session of Congress on Feb. 28 was attended by Jamiel Shaw Sr., whose son was shot by a criminal in the country illegally.
Also in attendance were Jessica Davis, Susan Oliver, and Jenna Oliver—relatives of two California police officers allegedly killed by a convicted felon who had been deported to Mexico in 1997 and 2001 after drug- and weapons-related arrests.
“As we speak, we are removing gang members, drug dealers and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our citizens,” Trump said to Congress on Feb 28.
Addressing the four relatives, Trump said, “I want you to know—we will never stop fighting for justice. Your loved ones will never be forgotten, we will always honor their memory.”
Jamiel Shaw, II
Shaw, Sr.’s son, also named Jamiel, or “Jas” was shot in Los Angeles by gang member and Mexican national Pedro Espinoza, who had been released from jail a day earlier. Espinoza, a Mexican national, had previously been booked five times as a juvenile but had not been referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation.
“On March 2nd, 2008, my life changed in the twinkling of an eye,” Shaw, Sr., said at the Republican National Congress on July 18 last year.
Shaw, Sr., said his 17-year-old son had just called him to say, ‘Be right home, old man. I’m right around the corner.’
“One minute I’m hearing my son’s voice,” Shaw Sr said. “Next minute, gunshots, and Jas is dead.
“I saw the hole in his head and blood everywhere. It happened so fast, Jas was still holding his phone.”
Jas’s mother was serving in Iraq at the time of the shooting.
Espinoza had targeted Jas because he thought he belonged to a rival gang. Espinoza was arrested five days after the shooting and in 2012 was convicted and sentenced to death.
Shaw Sr. said he had received a lot of support from local politicians immediately after his son was killed.
“Two weeks after that, everything changed. We learned the criminal was an illegal alien gangbanger from Mexico,” Shaw Sr. said.“And the politicians disappeared.”
Then, he said, Trump called him one day to see how he was doing.
Trump said in his Feb. 28 speech to Congress that Shaw Sr. had since become a good friend.
“Jamiel Shaw Jr., was an incredible young man, with unlimited potential who was getting ready to go to college where he would have excelled as a great quarterback,” Trump said. “But he never got the chance.”
Officers Killed
Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver and Detective Michael Davis, Jr., were both killed in 2014 in the line of duty. Luis Enrique Monroy Bracamontes has been charged with both killings and is scheduled to stand trial in October. His wife, Janelle Marquez Monroy, is being charged as an accomplice.
Oliver was shot and killed as he and another deputy investigated a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of a motel in Auburn County, just out of Sacramento, California.
Monroy Bracamontes shot Oliver in the forehead and then fled, according to Oliver’s memorial page.
Later that day, Davis, Jr., responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle possibly related to the earlier shooting. Monroy Bracamontes allegedly shot both Davis Jr., and another deputy as they exited their car. Davis, Jr., died shortly after being taken to hospital.
Oliver is survived by his wife and two daughters, and Davis, Jr., is survived by his wife and four children.
Trump spoke to Jenna, Oliver’s daughter during his speech on Feb. 28. “Jenna: I want you to know that your father was a hero, and that tonight you have the love of an entire country supporting you and praying for you,” he said.
Victims of Immigration Crime
Trump is setting up an office for victims of crimes committed by illegal aliens, called the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office.
“We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media, and silenced by special interests,” Trump said on Feb. 28.
The office will be run by ICE and will provide victims of crimes information including the offender’s immigration status and custody status, according to a memorandum from Department of Homeland Security chief John Kelly in February.
“Criminal aliens routinely victimize Americans and other legal residents,” Kelly said in the memo.
Funding for the office will be reallocated from funding that currently aids illegal aliens.
In a testimony for a House committee last year, then-ICE Director Sarah Saldaña said 36,007 illegal alien criminals had been released back into the community in fiscal 2013.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in a study that 50 percent of criminal aliens were arrested at least once for either assault, homicide, robbery, a sex offense, or kidnapping in fiscal year 2008, about About half of the criminal aliens were arrested at least once for a drug violation.
