An illegal alien in California was sentenced to more than 400 years in prison last week after being convicted of kidnapping, three counts of rape, criminal threats, and seven counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14 – all against the same family.
According to a press release from the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, Macario Cerda has a long history of rape and sexual abuse. “During the investigation it was revealed that the victim had been raped by Cerda when she was minor in 2010, resulting in a pregnancy and birth of a baby.” The younger sister of the victim also gave testimony that she was raped by Cerda as well in 2009.
Cerda had previously been deported after serving short sentences for domestic violence convictions, but reportedly re-entered the United States illegally within five months, and began his crime spree against the family soon after that.
This unfortunate story is just another episode in the crisis of illegal immigrant crime in the United States. Unfortunately, while the list of victims grows larger by the day, Congress refuses to take the necessary steps to help protect American citizens. In fact, on Tuesday, 2020 hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) dismissed the need for a better border wall: “Make no mistake — this wall is dumb,” she told a crowd of supporters in Puerto Rico.
While it is true that there is no way to completely end illegal immigration and the high rate of criminality that comes with it, suggesting that there is no need for better enforcement is ridiculous. Here are several positive steps could be implemented right away that would make a substantial difference in curbing the illegal immigration crisis in the United States:
- Build the wall. Marcario Cerda illegally re-entered the United States prior to going on his horrific crime spree. Better border security likely could have prevented him from re-entering the country and harming Americans. President Trump has asked for a $5 billion “down payment” to build an improved barrier along the southern border with Mexico. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) believes that an effective border barrier would cost between $15-25 billion, so this would be an excellent start.
- De-incentivize illegal immigration. If the jobs and benefits made available to illegal aliens became scarce, there would be little reason to risk illegally migrating to the United States. The best way to quickly end the main incentive for illegal immigration – employment – is to enact mandatory E-Verify.
- End Sanctuary policies. Despite his horrific crimes, California’s “Sanctuary State” status would ensure that Cerda is released back into the American public if his sentence were somehow reduced or overturned at some point. There is no data to suggest that sanctuary cities further any interests of the American public. However, far too many Americans have been harmed or killed by those who could and should have been removed from the country.
Every crime committed by an illegal alien should be classified as preventable. And until the underlying issues that enable illegal aliens to enter the United States are dealt with, preventable crimes like these will continue to occur. Americans should consider those who block common-sense immigration reforms to be at least partly responsible for letting horrible tragedies like these happen..