Young Questions ICE Agency on Failure to Act

Press Release

Congressman David Young yesterday sought answers from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after their mishandling the case of the suspect charged in the death of Council Bluffs resident Sarah Root. ICE failed to act on requests from local law enforcement to detain Eswin Mejia, an illegal immigrant who killed Root in January while drunk driving. Mejia has not been seen since posting bail last month.

After Congressman Young pressed ICE Director Sarah Saldana about the agency's missteps in Mejia's case that allowed him to flee, Saldana told the Subcommittee that Mejia is a top priority of the National Fugitive Operations Program, stating, "That is at the top of our list of fugitives, we are assisting the local police department in trying to locate them."

"They're at the top of the list," the Director later added. "And we have notified through our transnational contacts that we have with governments, I believe he was from Honduras, and we have notified the government there that - please be on the lookout for him. We will find him."

The exchange took place in a U.S. House Appropriations Committee's Homeland Security Subcommittee budget hearing to examine United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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