Hats off to Jose Lopez-Ruiz for his tenacity and keen understanding of America's broken immigration system. With a roll up his sleeves attitude and a can-do spirit, this Guatemalan national has defied American authority eight times. Lopez-Ruiz plead guilty on Monday to re-entering the country after seven deportations.
Fox 17 reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents apprehended Lopez-Ruiz in July 2019 after searching for him for nearly two months. In May 2019, Lopez-Ruiz fled from authorities while they were nabbing another illegal immigrant. ICE agents re-discovered him in Madison, Tenn. when they finally arrested him.
Surely, he must have committed many acts of love, as some politicians may claim, while in the good ol' U.S.A. Nope, it looks like the only thing Lopez-Ruiz loves is a good beverage. Lopez-Ruiz has been arrested for drunk driving six times with five convictions and one pending.
Don't worry though, I'm sure if he is removed again from the country that the border wall will stop him. Well, it would stop him if we had one.
But, Lopez-Ruiz's case highlights a quandary that the American immigration system finds itself in. Clearly, Lopez-Ruiz can waltz right back into the country at any time. He continuously did so over an 18 year period from 2000 to 2018. So what's America to do? Keep him in our overcrowded jails at the cost of U.S. taxpayers? Or send him back to his home country where he undoubtedly will come back to the states? Furthermore, if we choose the latter option, would we finally fund border security as needed to stop illegal immigration once and for all? Well, we haven't yet. The truth is that until Democrats, and establishment Republicans alike, get more serious on the matter there will be countless Lopez-Ruizes who re-enter the country as they please.