The mother of a Texas woman killed in a hit-and-run crash is angry that federal authorities have rescinded a deportation order for the illegal immigrant authorities say killed her daughter.
“I really want to know why,” Rhonda Exum said on “Fox & Friends First” Tuesday, adding that she was never told that the man who has been charged in the hit-and-run crash would not be a priority for deportation when his criminal case is complete.
“By him not being deported, it’s like you telling me my daughter’s life didn’t mean anything,” she said, according to Fox News.
Exum said her vote for Biden did not result in what she expected.
Rhonda Exum's daughter was killed by an illegal immigrant drunk driver who was set to be deported until Biden's immigration policies allowed him to stay in the U.S.
"I don’t feel that [Biden] has done anything but disappoint," Exum said.https://t.co/KY1NeLKjN2
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 1, 2022
“I thought he was going to talk for the American people, basically, and not for himself,” she said. “I don’t feel that he has done anything but disappoint.”
Adrienne Sophia Exum, 19, died in a north Houston crash on Nov. 22, 2020, when the car she was driving was hit by a pickup truck driven by Heriberto Fuerte-Padilla, according to KTRK-TV. She died at the scene.
Her mother’s interview Tuesday with Fox is below:
Police said Fuerte-Padilla was drunk at the time of the 1:30 p.m. crash and tried to run away after the crash.
In the closing days of the Trump administration, Fuerte-Padilla, who was in the country illegally, was marked for deportation.
.@Katelyn_Caralle: "[D]riving drunk at 1:30 p.m. on a Sunday when his pickup truck smashed into a Mazda driven by Adrienne Sophia Exum (19)… Fuerte-Padilla, a Mexican migrant, tried to flee the scene but was chased down by an off duty police officer."https://t.co/fde03mQQF4
— Andrew Good (@Drewbueno) February 1, 2022
But now, as the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement implement new Biden administration rules designed to reduce the number of deportations, Fuerte-Padilla is no longer a priority, according to The Washington Times.
The victim’s cousin, Tranette Gamboa, told Fox News she was shocked at the decision.
“They don’t care,” Gamboa said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton described the Biden policies in simple terms.
“I believe that Biden has betrayed our country. He’s betraying families that are losing people right and left,” Paxton said during the interview. “I think the answer to ‘why?’ is that they have greater goals that are more important than saving members of families.”
Rhonda Exum said she does not understand why protecting Fuerte-Padilla from deportation is more important than justice for her daughter. And her message to the Biden administration was clear.
“My message is: Look out for the American people first,” she said.
“Truth be told, this was literally my first time voting, and I voted for you. And I feel disappointed right now.”
Jessica Vaughan, policy studies director at the Center for Immigration Studies, said the situation is ludicrous, according to The Washington Times.
“Here we have a law enforcement agency handing ICE a criminal alien on a silver platter and ICE saying no thank you, and then the law enforcement agency saying really? And ICE saying no, we really don’t want to take this person,” she said.
Texas and Louisiana are pushing back and have filed suit in federal court. A similar case is underway involving officials from Arizona, Montana, and Ohio, the Times reported.
Story cited here.
