NASHVILLE, TENN. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and members of the Tennessee delegation sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas seeking answers about the immigration status of 23-year-old Nelson Yovani Ortiz-Ramirez and why he was allowed to remain in the U.S.

Last week, Ortiz-Ramirez was charged with attempted kidnapping, sexual battery, public intoxication, and evading arrest after he followed a woman into a bathroom at the Nashville Sundae Club and groped her. He is currently on a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Biden Border Crisis Continues to Devastate U.S. Cities

“Since the President took office, there have been nearly 10 million illegal immigrant encounters, and there have been nearly 2 million known ‘gotaways’ who have evaded detection from border patrol and entered the United States. Just as concerning, over 350 migrants encountered by border patrol were on the terrorist watchlist—75 of whom were apprehended in this fiscal year. And, yet again, Tennesseans have been forced to bear the brunt of President Biden’s border crisis.”

Biden’s Open-Border Policies Enabled Ortiz-Ramirez’s Crime

“Last week, it was reported that Nelson Yovani Ortiz-Ramirez—an illegal immigrant—was charged with attempted kidnapping, sexual battery, public intoxication, and evading arrest. This illegal migrant allegedly followed a woman to the bathroom at a local coffee shop, groping her and forcing her into the bathroom, where the woman feared she would be raped. Fortunately, this brave woman was able to push Ortiz-Ramirez away and call the police. But this despicable incident would never have happened without your reckless and irresponsible open border policies.”

“Sadly, this incident is only the latest in a series of unconscionable acts by illegal immigrants who have entered our country. Last summer, an illegal immigrant in Franklin, Tennessee, was arrested after his co-workers discovered photos and videos on his phone of him raping and abusing unconscious children. And, in February, an illegal immigrant who had been released into the United States via parole under your watch is alleged to have brutally raped and murdered Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who lived in his apartment building. If you or this administration actually enforced our immigration laws, these heinous acts would never have taken place.”

• The letter is cosigned by U.S. Representatives Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), Mark Green (R-Tenn.), Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), David Kustoff (R-Tenn.), Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), and John Rose (R-Tenn.).

Click here to view the full letter.