The death of a Catholic nun and the serious injury of two elderly nuns in Virginia is more than just a tragedy. It’s the inevitable outcome of the Obama administration’s immigration policy — offering selective amnesty for many illegal aliens while spending tax money on pampering those who break our laws with relative impunity.

Heritage Foundation – The Foundary

Carlos Montano, the drunken driver who crossed the center line and slammed head-on into the nuns’ car, already had two convictions for DUI. He had also been arrested or cited for reckless driving, speeding, and public drunkenness. Officials in Prince William County, Virginia, had previously notified the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about Montano. But Montano, an illegal alien, was released by ICE on his own recognizance pending deportation proceedings.

An anonymous immigration official at DHS told The Washington Post that Montano’s two prior DUI convictions were not “enough to warrant detention.” That may be the current policy of the Obama administration, but lawyers familiar with the Justice Department’s procedures for immigration and deportation proceedings tell me that is “absolutely not true.” It was common for ICE in the past to detain aliens with two DUI convictions, especially when they had no obvious basis to legalize their status in the United States (such as being married to a U.S. citizen).

And there is no evidence whatsoever in the public record that Montano has any legal basis to remain in the United States. The lawyers told me that aliens like Montano are frequently brought before immigration judges to decide whether the person is a threat to public safety and should be detained. If the immigration judge decides they are not, the judge can still set a bond rather than release the alien on his own recognizance based on the alien’s flight risk.

Heritage Foundation – The Foundary

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