Lawmakers ask feds why man charged in deputy’s death was in U.S. illegally | McClatchy Washington Bureau

U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder of Kansas on Friday requested an investigation in the immigration status of the driver accused of killing Johnson County Sheriff’s Master Deputy Brandon Collins during a traffic stop on Sept. 11.

In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Yoder asked the agency to look into Adrian Espinosa-Flores’ immigration and criminal history. Specifically Yoder said he wants to know how Espinosa-Flores was able to be in the United States illegally after being arrested for driving under the influence in California in 2001.

Yoder’s letter follows a similar one sent to Johnson last week by Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

That letter also demanded Espinosa-Flores’ full criminal and immigration history and asked why he remained in the U.S. despite previous criminal convictions and his unlawful status.

“It seems Deputy Collins died at the hands of someone who broke our laws and should not have been allowed to remain in the United States following his multiple interactions with law enforcement,” Moran and Grassley wrote.

Espinosa-Flores allegedly was driving drunk about 1:30 a.m. when his pickup slammed into the back of Collins’ patrol car as the deputy was performing a routine traffic stop on U.S. 69 near 143rd Street. The car burst into flames and Collins died.

Espinosa-Flores fled, but was arrested nearby. He is charged with involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a traffic crash.

“The loss of Master Deputy Collins was absolutely tragic,” Yoder asid in a statement. “What’s worse, now we’ve come to find out that the man who killed him is in our country illegally and has a criminal record. It’s inexcusable that he was able to be here to commit this crime and it’s inexcusable the Obama Administration continues to tolerate and promote policies that prevent these types of criminals from being swiftly deported upon arrest.”

The country must secure its borders and place the safety of the American people above politics, Yoder said.

“No family should have to suffer the pain the Collins family is feeling right now,” he said.

Among the questions Yoder wants federal officials to answer is whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement ever had been notified about Adrian Espinosa-Flores’ presence in the U.S.. In particular, Yoder said he wanted to know whether ICE had been notified after Espinosa-Flores’ 2001 arrest for driving under the influence in California and a 2013 traffic violation for driving without license in Kansas.

“If not,” Yoder asks in the letter, “why not?”