Vote 2024: Stamford murder reignites border security debate
Police say two suspects in the execution-style murder are connected to a violent Venezuelan gang. The GOP says it proves Democrats are weak on border security.
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It’s a crime that stunned Stamford – an execution-style murder that may be connected to a violent Venezuelan gang.
Now, Connecticut Republicans are raising the crime as a campaign issue in the race for Congress.
“EXECUTED”
A cleaning crew made a gruesome discovery at a Super 8 Motel in Stamford last Monday.
“The victim was found to be bound with duct tape on his arms and legs and executed,” said prosecutor Margaret Moscati.
Angel Samaniego, 59, was sitting between two beds with a bullet in his chest, according to arrest warrants. Police determined a pillow was used to muffle the sound of the gun, the warrants said.
The two suspects were apprehended in upstate New York. Police there said both are connected to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison gang that has infiltrated the U.S. Stamford police are still investigating the possible connection.
“At this point in the investigation, we have not been able to confirm that they are gang members,” said Stamford Police Lt. Douglas Deiso. “We also have not been able to confirm that Mr. Samaniego’s death is gang-related.”
BORDER SECURITY DEBATE
Despite many unknowns in the case, including a motive, Republicans are blaming Democrats’ immigration policies.
“If Sen. Murphy, Rep. Hayes and Rep. Courtney aren’t sure that they have failed, they should all attend the murder victim’s funeral and apologize to his family,” said state GOP chairman Ben Proto. “Because of their failures, Trea de Aragua may be coming to an apartment complex in Connecticut.”
Last year, Murphy negotiated a bipartisan bill that would have hired 10,000 new Border Patrol agents and given the Homeland Security secretary emergency authority to limit border crossings. The legislation also made it tougher for migrants to claim asylum.
House Republicans refused to call the bill for a vote after former President Donald Trump called it a “great gift to the Democrats, and a Death Wish for The Republican Party.”
Murphy says Trump killed the proposal for political gain.
"Republicans don’t want to and have never wanted to fix our problems at the border,” Murphy's campaign said in a statement. “They proved that when Donald Trump killed the bipartisan border security bill Sen. Murphy wrote with conservative Republicans and the Biden-Harris administration. There’s only one party that cares about stopping transnational crime, and it’s the Democrats."
But Murphy’s opponent, Republican Matt Corey, said the Democrats’ bill didn’t go far enough.
“It’s an open border policy,” he said. “It was 94 executive orders that were overturned within the first month of this administration. And it took Sen. Murphy until his third year into this administration to even bring a border bill up.”
TREN DE ARAGUA
Tren de Aragua is connected to murders in Colorado and Georgia, and other crimes in Texas, Wisconsin and New York. Although the group originated in a Venezuelan prison, the Department of Homeland Security says it has spread throughout South America.
In the U.S., DHS has identified more than 600 individuals with possible ties to TdA, NBC News reported.
“They are the most violent gang that is coming up here,” said Kenneth Gray, a former FBI counter-terrorism agent who now teaches at the University of New Haven.
Gray said “The Tren” is a multinational organization that specializes in drugs, money laundering, prostitution and human trafficking. Its members blend in with other migrants, who are often its targets. They are also particularly hard to vet at the border.
“You have to have cooperation by the host country where they came from to really know who the person is,” Gray said.
Corey supports Trump’s policy requiring asylum seekers to “remain in Mexico.” Once migrants arrive in the U.S., it takes an average of five years to adjudicate their claim, Gray said.
“You can’t just turn people away, but there should be a vetting process waiting for asylum in countries that are next to your country, not waiting for asylum in this country,” Corey said. “Until you get vetted, it should be wait in Mexico or waiting for asylum in the nearest country.”
Immigration reform has become a major issue in the presidential election. In June, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that temporarily shuts down asylum requests once the average number of daily encounters tops 2,500 between official ports of entry. The border would reopen only once that number falls to 1,500.
