The deaths of Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and his Uber driver in Indiana were "completely preventable" had more stringent immigration laws and a wall for enforcing them had been in place, Rep. Todd Rokita said Wednesday.
"This was a completely preventable tragedy," he told Fox News' "Fox & Friends."
"If we had a wall tool for enforcing immigration law something every other country on the face of this Earth does, this would not have happened. Two people would still be alive. That's the bottom line. That's what makes this not a drunk driving case, but an immigration case."
Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, who came into the United States illegally from Guatemala, was charged with four felony counts related to the Sunday crash along Interstate 70 in Indianapolis. He had been deported in 2007 and 2009 and was living in the U.S. illegally, according to investigators.
Rokita on Wednesday called on listeners to contact their representatives to urge they pass a law he's sponsoring, the Stopping Lawless Actions of Politicians (SLAP) Act, which if passed could give public officials up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million for obstructing federal immigration officials.
"It says if you are a local elected official and you are thumbing your nose at what is valid immigration law, you yourself are a felon and you ought to be thrown in jail," said Rokita Wednesday. "It ought to be part of the plan to help clean up and end dangerous sanctuary cities."
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He also commented that if the United States is to be a sovereign nation, it must have a strong border.
"We have got to be able to enforce who comes in and out of our country," said Rokita.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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