White House pushes gun laws, ignores immigration after Texas shooting

The White House called for stricter gun legislation but appeared to ignore immigration issues following the neighbor-on-neighbor shooting in Texas last week.

During a press conference on Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke about the shooting in Cleveland, Texas, that left five individuals dead, including a 9-year-old boy. The shooter has been identified as 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, a Mexican national.

“The president was briefed on the shooting on Saturday morning and he and the first lady are praying for those killed in the attack,” Jean Pierre said. “But the president believes prayers alone are not enough. Congress must act because what makes tragedies like this one all the more heart-wrenching, is the fact that it is entirely within our power to take these weapons of war off our street. The majority of Americans and the majority of gun owners support common sense measures to reduce gun violence. The president continues to believe that Congress must act without delay.”

The comments by Jean-Pierre come shortly after the suspect was identified in the shooting and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to Newsweek that prior to fatally shooting five individuals this month, Oropeza was deported from the U.S. on at least four different occasions, with his first removal occurring in March 2009.

According to ICE, Oropeza was detained and removed from the U.S. three different times in September 2009, January 2012 and July 2016. Despite these incidents, Jean-Pierre did not speak about immigration issues or legislation in regard to the shooting. Newsweek reached out to the White House press office via email for comment.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office provided an update on the ongoing manhunt and said, “My office is still actively searching for Francisco Oropeza, the alleged murderer of 5 people in our county late Friday night. We are being assisted by the FBI Houston Office and their SWAT team, the United States Marshals and Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force, Harris County Sheriff’s Office VIPER Task Force, Liberty County Sheriff’s Office SRT and CID, Texas DPS and Texas Rangers, and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.”

“Oropeza is considered armed and dangerous, do not approach or attempt to apprehend. Contact local authorities immediately,” the sheriff’s office said in another post.

As the manhunt for Oropeza continues, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the five victims that were taken in this senseless act of violence…I continue working with state and local officials to ensure they have all available resources to respond to this horrific crime. I thank the men and women in law enforcement who are tirelessly working to ensure this criminal is caught and brought to justice,” Abbott said in a statement on Sunday.