Washington, DC -Today, Congressman Van Drew released the following statement after an illegal immigrant who had previously been in ICE custody was charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl in New Jersey.

"There are no words for what this little girl and her parents are going through," said Congressman Van Drew. "Nothing we say can make this right. There is only one thing we can do, and that is to make sure this never happens again. This man should have been deported in 2024. He was already in ICE custody, but instead he was released back into our communities. And while this is happening, taxpayers should certainly not be funding legal defense programs for illegal immigrants fighting deportation. This little girl deserved to be protected. She was failed. We cannot allow that to happen again."