GOP Rep: Parents in small Wisconsin town afraid to let kids play outside after alleged migrant crime

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., revealed that parents in a small town where his grandchildren live are scared to allow children to play outside after the arrest of a member of a Venezuelan gang in the community for allegedly sexually assaulting a mother and abusing her daughter.

Prior to the alleged crimes in Wisconsin, Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate, 26, was arrested and released earlier this year in Minneapolis, Minn. for a separate offense.

Prairie du Chien Police Chief Kyle Teynor said on September 9 that the man, who is reportedly a member of the Tren de Aragua gang, allegedly assaulted the woman and child "under particularly brutal circumstances," and attacked them "over the course of a period of time." 

According to Fox News, Rep. Van Orden's grandchildren live under one mile away from the Prairie du Chien home where the crime allegedly happened.

"I don’t care what your political affiliation is. This is not a Democrat issue. It’s not an independent or Libertarian issue. This is a human-rights issue," Van Orden said during a news conference on Sept. 9. "American citizens’ human rights are being violated. They’re being kidnapped, raped and murdered by criminal illegal aliens, and it’s just got to stop."

Van Orden attributed Coronel Zarate's crimes to the Biden administration's border policies and its support for sanctuary cities who do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. 

"Why should a town of 5,500 people . . . be afraid of letting their kids play in their front yard?" Van Orden told Fox News, saying that he stands by his previous comments about crime committed by illegal immigrants. "It wasn't like this three years ago."