The man at the center of President Trump
Donald John TrumpRatcliffe rebuts criticism over experience for DNI nomination On The Trail: Steyer's flop a warning to Bloomberg Biden touts victory in South Carolina: 'We are very much alive' MORE's controversial new midterms ad who was convicted of the murder two police officers was readmitted to the U.S. during President George W. Bush's tenure, not under Democrats, as the ad says.
The Sacramento Bee reports that Luis Bracamontes, who was sentenced to the death penalty after his 2014 rampage, returned to the U.S. after being deported under a Republican presidency.
The ad, which Trump tweeted and pinned to the top of his Twitter account, shows clips of Bracamontes spewing profanities and threats while at trial, followed by the message, "Democrats let him stay."
It is outrageous what the Democrats are doing to our Country. Vote Republican now! https://t.co/0pWiwCHGbh pic.twitter.com/2crea9HF7G
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2018
Bracamontes first entered the country illegally in 1993, when he was 16. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office told the Bee that he was arrested in 1996 on marijuana possession related charges and deported on June 3, 1997.
Arizona records show he was arrested on drug charges again in Phoenix in 1998, then released “for reasons unknown” by then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office.
He was arrested again on similar charges in May of 2001 and deported.
The Bee was unable to ascertain his exact re-entry date, but records show Bracamontes getting married in Maricopa County on Feb. 28, 2002, meaning he re-entered the country under the Bush administration. He was not deported again before the murder of two police officers in 2014.
The ad, directed at building support for Republican midterm candidates, has received harsh criticism, even from some in Trump's own party.
Sen. Jeff Flake
Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeAppeals court refuses to throw out Joe Arpaio's guilty verdict after Trump pardon 70 former senators propose bipartisan caucus for incumbents McSally ties Democratic rival Kelly to Sanders in new ad MORE (R-Az.) called the ad "sickening" and said Republicans should denounce it.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez
Thomas Edward PerezClinton’s top five vice presidential picks Government social programs: Triumph of hope over evidence Labor’s 'wasteful spending and mismanagement” at Workers’ Comp MORE blasted the ad as a divisive "dog-whistle."
