Officials in Virginia are upset with the Department of Homeland Security over its refusal to release the results of an investigation into a drunk-driving homicide involving an illegal immigrant and a Catholic nun.

 

In August, Carlos Martinelly Montano, an undocumented immigrant from Bolivia, drove his car head-on into another vehicle carrying Sisters Denise Mosier, 66, Charlotte Lange, 75, and Connie Ruth Lupton, 70. The crash, which took place near Bristow, Virginia, killed Mosier and seriously injured the other two nuns.

 

Montano, who was drunk at the time of the crash, had two prior convictions for driving under the influence. But the Immigration and Customs Enforcement service, which was aware of Montano’s illegal status and criminal record, failed to deport the 23-year-old before the August accident.

 

Homeland security officials conducted an investigation into the matter to determine why Montano was not sent back to his home country. But the agency has refused to share the results of the probe with Virginia leaders.

 

Prince William County Board Chairman Corey Stewart told the media: “This seems to be DHS’s standard protocol, when you’re embarrassed about the results of your policy, you simply keep it from the public and come up with some bogus excuse about why it can’t be released.”

 

The Benedictine Sisters of Virginia, the order to which Mosier belonged, issued a statement saying that they were “dismayed and saddened that this tragedy has been politicized and become an apparent forum for the illegal immigration agenda. While grieving and dealing with the death and severe injuries of our sisters, we would like to re-focus attention on the consequences of drinking and driving, and on Christ’s command to forgive.

“The young driver of the other car will experience the consequences of his decisions through our justice system. We sincerely hope this heartbreak will help him evaluate his decisions and give him motivation to make life-changing choices. We will continue to pray for him and his family.”

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Prince William Supervisors Upset with ICE (by Keith Walker, Culpeper Star Exponent)

DHS Withholds Probe into Prince William Drunk Driver Who Killed Nun (by Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post)

Driver in Fatal Va. Crash Had Previous DUI Violations (by Jennifer Buske and Paul Duggan,

Washington Post)