Young, Ashford Introduce Sarah's Law in Honor of Late Iowan Sarah Root

Press Release

Today Iowa Congressman David Young and Congressman Brad Ashford (D-NE) introduced Sarah's Law, bipartisan legislation to honor Sarah Root, an Iowan and Third Congressional District constituent who was tragically killed by an illegal immigrant in January. A companion version of the bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, and Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse last week.

Sarah's Law amends mandatory detention provisions currently in place under the Immigration and Nationality Act. It requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take custody of any individual who has entered or remains in the United States illegally and is also charged with a crime resulting in the death or serious bodily injury of another person. The legislation also requires ICE to make reasonable efforts to update crime victims or their families with relevant information about the criminal or the federal agency's efforts.

Eswin Mejia, the illegal immigrant charged with Sarah's death, has not been seen since posting bail in February. His disappearance follows ICE's failure to act on requests from local law enforcement to detain Mejia.

"The Root family and the community have been left waiting to see if Eswin Mejia will ever be found due to the unacceptable failures in this case including the federal government's negligence in enforcing our laws," Congressman Young said. "Nothing can bring Sarah back, but we can work to ensure this tragedy is met with justice and nothing like this happens again."

"Sarah Root's life was cut short far too early, and her family never received the justice they deserved. It is heartbreaking to see any family face this kind of pain and grief," said Congressman Ashford. "Sarah's Law is an important step in ensuring undocumented individuals who commit violent crimes are brought to justice in our court system. We must prevent this from happening in our community again."

In April, Congressman Young criticized the federal government's lack of enforcement and understanding of our nation's immigration laws while introducing Scott Root, Sarah's father, at a U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing entitled, "Criminal Aliens Released by the Department of Homeland Security."

In March, Congressman David Young sought answers from ICE after their mishandling of the case of Sarah Root.

In March, Congressman Ashford also sent a letter to the Director and Deputy Director of ICE requesting further information on this case.

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