Ashford, Young Introduce Sarah's Law in Honor of Late Iowan Sarah Root

Press Release

Today, Congressman Brad Ashford and Congressman David Young (R-IA) introduced Sarah's Law, bipartisan legislation to honor Sarah Root, who was tragically killed in Omaha by an undocumented immigrant in January. A companion version of the bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse and Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst last week.

Sarah's Law amends mandatory detention provisions currently in place under the Immigration and Nationality Act. It requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take custody of any individual who has entered or remains in the United States illegally and is also charged with a crime resulting in the death or serious bodily injury of another person. The legislation also requires ICE to make reasonable efforts to update victims or their families with relevant information about the criminal and the federal agency's actions.

Eswin Mejia, the undocumented immigrant charged with Sarah's death, has not been seen since posting bail in February. His disappearance follows ICE's failure to act on requests from local law enforcement to detain Meija.

"Sarah Root's life was cut short far too early, and her family never received the justice they deserved. It is heartbreaking to see any family face this kind of pain and grief," said Rep. Ashford. "Sarah's Law is an important step in ensuring undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes are brought to justice in our court system. We must prevent this from happening in our community again."

"The Root family and the community have been left waiting to see if Eswin Mejia will ever be found due to the unacceptable failures in this case including the federal government's negligence in enforcing our laws," Congressman Young said. "Nothing can bring Sarah back, but we can work to ensure this tragedy is met with justice and nothing like this happens again."

In March, Congressman Ashford sent a letter to the Director and Deputy Director of ICE requesting further information on this case.

Congressman Young also sought answers from ICE in another March letter.

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