MASS. MOM TO PREZ: HOLD STRONG
A Bay State mom whose son was dragged to his death by an illegal immigrant is urging President Trump to “hold strong” and keep pushing for the full $5.7 billion to build a wall on the southern border.
“I don’t want the president to give in,” said Maureen Maloney of Milford. “I don’t care how long it takes. We can’t lose more loved ones to illegal aliens.”
Maloney’s 23-year-old son Matthew Denice was killed in 2011 by an Ecuadorean illegal immigrant who was convicted of motor vehicle homicide and manslaughter and is now serving 12 to 14 years. She said the proposed compromise deal to fund just $1.375 billion for new fencing along the border won’t get the job done. Maloney will be on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., today with others who lost loved ones to illegal immigrants in order to buttonhole members of Congress.
“I want to tell the Democrats, ‘Love America more than you hate President Trump,’ ” Maloney told the Herald. “I want the presiHe dent to hold strong.”
Maloney will take part in a press conference at the Capitol with Women for Trump. She’s also vice president of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime. Today she will try to speak to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) about border security.
“The Democrats need to listen to families who have lost loved ones. They need to hear us,” she said. “They need to hear from rape victims. They need to hear from parents who lost loved ones to drugs.”
Maloney said her son Matthew was an “amazing, kind and caring person,” breaking down as she spoke, briefly unable to continue.
Maloney is in D.C. with Bristol Sheriff Thomas Hodgson to advocate for more help for law enforcement — from a more secure border to tighter immigration controls — so other moms and dads won’t suffer the same heartbreaking fate.
“Some feel politics is more important than what we’re dealing with,” said Hodgson. “The problem of illegal immigration is not just on the border, it’s also on the interior. It’s destroying our communities.”
said drug overdoses from synthetic fentanyl is all too real, with Massachusetts registering the seventhhighest overdose rate in the country.
“Every day another person is killed — from an overdose or an illegal alien criminal,” added Hodgson, who met with the president Monday. “Sheriffs are trying to prevent more heartache and trauma. That’s our mission.”
Hodgson said D.C. has been “hijacked” and made into a “political playground” over illegal immigration.
Schumer tweeted Tuesday that the compromise deal on the wall could finally end the “shutdown politics” and he now is looking forward to “seeing the final product.”
Trump tweeted Tuesday night that the deal will “be hooked up with lots of money from other sources,” signaling he’s still determined to stick to his campaign promise of building a wall.
Hodgson and Maloney said they will stand together today to stress they are the ones on the “front lines” of the immigration front — and not willing to back down.