It was the ultimate failure of our government to keep its most vulnerable citizens safe. An 82-year-old woman woke up at 3 a.m. on May 12 in her Martin County, Florida, home by a man who tied her up and raped her for 45 minutes. It turns out that individual came to this country illegally in 2016. Yet, despite at least three other arrests, he was never deported. In other words, this alleged attack was 100% preventable. These stories happen every day. THIS is the broken aspect of our immigration system that is never discussed.
Marvin Ailon-Mendoza, 20, appeared in court last Wednesday with an interpreter when he had his bail set at $520,000 for charges of sexual battery by great force, burglary of a dwelling with assault or battery while masked, and false imprisonment while masked.
According to Martin County Sherriff William Snyder, Mendoza is an illegal alien who came here as an "unaccompanied minor" in 2016 along with many other volatile Guatemalan teens. He had been arrested for several offenses while he was a minor, and then as an adult, was arrested for grand theft and battery. He was arrested again in 2019 for exposing himself at a park in front of children. He wound up serving 100 days in jail, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) never picked him up to ensure he'd be removed from the country.
The sheriff's office told me that the battery charge was for an arrest stemming from domestic violence incident when he allegedly choked a woman until she was nearly unconscious. There was also a probation violation as well. I was also told that the 82-year-old woman suffered significant physical trauma during the sexual assault.
The million-dollar question is how can an illegal alien with such a criminal record not be deported? We face a criminal justice crisis in this country with domestic criminals who constantly reoffend and revolve in and out of jail. But foreign nationals can and should easily be deported upon the first sign of trouble. Sheriff Snyder contends that his county always reports illegal aliens to federal immigration officials and it was the feds who dropped the ball. According to the sheriff, his office has documentation from the jail records system that shows ICE was notified when Mendoza was arrested.
The facts of the case are still unclear, but even under the Trump administration, the feds were extremely lenient on minors who committed offenses, so it's unfortunately not surprising that he would have remained in the country after he racked up charges as a juvenile. What is shocking, however, is how he was released onto the streets after serving 100 days for indecent exposure. Even if he somehow finagled legal status in the ensuing years since he came, those charges would have been grounds for an ICE hold.
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