York: Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and the border

If the Trump campaign has any say in it, Americans should learn the name of Gianfranco Torres-Navarro. According to U.S. authorities, Torres-Navarro is the leader of a Peruvian crime gang and is thought to be personally responsible for 23 murders. He is a notorious figure in Peru, where he is known as "Gianfranco 23," clearly "a reference to the number of people he is alleged to have killed," according to the Associated Press. He has a girlfriend who, also according to AP, "has a sizable following on the social media platform TikTok where she showed off their lavish lifestyle, including designer clothes, resort vacations and shooting targets at a gun range." Not to put too fine a point on it, but Torres-Navarro's gang is known as "Los Killers."

Here's why Americans should know who he is. Recently Torres-Navarro was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Endicott, New York, a village with a population of 13,667 about 190 miles north of New York City. Given that he is a wanted man, wanted for very serious crimes in Peru, one might ask how he made it to the United States.

The answer is: He just walked in. In May, Torres-Navarro crossed illegally into the United States near Roma, Texas, in the Rio Grande border sector. He was arrested by U.S. authorities who then ... let him go. Like millions of other illegal crossers, he was given a "notice to appear" before an immigration judge at some point far in the future, and then sent on his way.

The presence of Torres-Navarro in the United States, free to go as he pleases, was a direct result of the border policies of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. You've heard about their policy of allowing millions into the U.S. unvetted. This is that policy in action. Torres-Navarro is the face of that policy. He is a one-man, walking illustration of the dangerous nature of the Biden-Harris border.

Wait a minute, some Democrats might say. Are you arguing that every person who crosses the border illegally is a murderer? Of course not. What the Torres-Navarro case shows is that U.S. authorities, under Biden and Harris, are not really checking anybody. If they let a man wanted for 23 murders through, they'll let anybody through. And indeed, they do.

We've all seen the examples of horrendous crimes committed by people who crossed illegally into the U.S. during the Biden-Harris years. "In three and a half years, the Biden-Harris administration has released more than 5.4 million illegal aliens into the United States, with an additional at least 1.9 million known 'gotaways' escaping into the country," says a newly released report from the House Judiciary Committee. That's 7.3 million people so far in this administration.

As this newsletter noted just a few days ago: "The migrants have spread into cities and towns across the country, burdening municipalities struggling to house and feed them. Some have committed horrendous crimes. Culturally, on top of the nation's existing immigration process, it is a bad idea to let in so many unassimilated migrants so quickly, since it overwhelms the country's ability to turn them into Americans. And most fundamentally, the border rush represents an offense against the nation's sovereignty and the rule of law." Entirely apart from the basic principle that we shouldn't let mass murderers in, those are all serious considerations.

We've also seen that Biden and Harris have changed the face of illegal immigration. Where at various times in the past the dominant countries of origin were Mexico or the Northern Triangle, now authorities are seeing more and more illegal crossers from China, Turkey, and a number of countries in Africa, South America and beyond. When they are admitted into the United States, like Torres-Navarro, it's safe to say U.S. authorities don't know who they are. Among the 7.3 million illegal crossers Biden and Harris have released into the United States "are 375 illegal aliens on the U.S. government's terrorist watchlist," according to the Judiciary Committee. "That is a more than 3,000% increase of watch-listed alien encounters compared to all four years of the Trump administration."

Torres-Navarro was presumably not on the terrorist watch list. He is just a cold-blooded mass killer involved in standard gang crimes. One might think that would be plenty of reason to keep him out of the United States, but he was ushered right in.

And that is why Americans should know about Torres-Navarro. He is in the United States because of the way Biden and Harris chose to run the U.S.-Mexico border. And he is in custody through the work of an agency, ICE, that Harris wanted to "re-examine" and profoundly change, "starting from scratch," in light of her goal of decriminalizing illegal crossings into the United States. The border should be a major issue in this presidential campaign, and the story of Gianfranco Torres-Navarro is part of it.

Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner.