Dear Representative Harris,
In your June 27th Capitol Hill Report, you discussed House passage of HR 875, the Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act. You indicated that this legislation:
“…takes decisive action to ensure all illegal immigrants convicted of driving under the influence are eligible for deportation. Sparked by the tragic loss of American lives at the hands of drunk-driving illegal immigrants, this bill will help safeguard Maryland families from preventable and dangerous crimes.”
Given your outrage over the impact the DUIs have on innocent Americans, I’d like to share some information that you may have missed, but hopefully was presented as part of the consideration of this legislation.
Research consistently shows that undocumented immigrants have lower rates of DUI, and lower crime rate in general compared to the rest of the public. According to a peer reviewed study in the American Journal of Public Health, every 1 percent increase in the proportion of undocumented immigrants in a population of 100,000 results in 42 fewer drunken-driving arrests, 22 fewer drug arrests and roughly one less drug overdose. Similar results have been found in other studies discussed in a briefing paper by the CATO institute (https://www.cato.org/sites/ca
Given your outrage over criminal activity impacting innocent lives, I trust that you will turn your attention to the January 6th criminals pardoned by Mr. Trump and look into all of the crimes they have committed, including those in addition to the January 6 attack on the Capitol and the assaults against law enforcement officers. Here are a few examples:
– Andrew Taake, convicted of assaulting Capitol Police officers on January 6th, was later arrested for online solicitation of a minor based on a 2016 charge (https://www.texastribune.org/
– Shane Jason Woods, after receiving a pardon for assaulting police and a press photographer during the riot, was convicted in April 2022 of reckless homicide and driving under the influence (https://chicago.suntimes.com/
– Theodore Middendorf, who pleaded guilty to destruction of government property on January 6th, was previously sentenced to 19 years in prison in 2024 for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old https://www.documentcloud.org/
– Taylor Taranto was arrested in 2023 for illegal gun possession and making threats (https://www.justice.gov/usao-
– Brent John Holdridge was arrested for burglary and grand theft in May 2025, after being pardoned for his role in the Capitol riot (https://www.khsu.org/2025-05-
– Zachary Alam was rearrested in May 2025 for an alleged home invasion and theft (https://apnews.com/article/za
– Edward Kelley was convicted of conspiracy to murder federal employees, including FBI agents, and threatening a federal official (https://www.justice.gov/archi
– Emily Hernandez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a fatal 2022 drunk driving crash that occurred after the January 6th riot (https://www.usatoday.com/stor
– Matthew Huttle was killed in January 2025 during an altercation with a sheriff’s deputy following a traffic stop related to his being a habitual traffic offender, including driving while intoxicated and a battery case involving his son (https://apnews.com/article/in
– Daryl Johnson was arrested and charged with invasion of privacy for secretly recording women at his father’s tanning salon, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender (https://www.desmoinesregister
It is important to note that President Trump granted clemency to approximately 1,500 individuals charged or convicted in connection with the January 6th attack, including those with prior criminal histories, such as rape, manslaughter, domestic violence, and drug trafficking. Excluding the January 6th event, I would not be surprised if these 1500 individuals had a higher rate of criminal activity that the public in general – and certainly higher than undocumented immigrants.
After sharing this information with you, I’m eagerly awaiting to hear your outrage over the tragic loss of American lives and horrendous crimes caused by those receiving January 6th pardons.
Ron Ketter
Easton, MD
Dear Representative Harris,
I am writing to ask for your thoughts on the proposed Medicaid cuts that are part of the “Big Beautiful Bill” currently in process in the Senate.
While looking into the impact of cuts on Maryland residents, I learned that Medicaid along with the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide health insurance for 1 in 4 of our state’s population. Medicaid covers the cost of giving birth for 40 percent of births in the state, provides help for 1 in 3 persons with disabilities and also covers care for 5 out of 8 nursing home residents. The proposed cuts to Medicaid would result in loss of health coverage for 229K Marylanders.
There are also proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which would result in 200K recipients losing some or all of their benefits.
In addition, some 190K Marylanders enrolled in the state’s healthcare marketplace will likely lose their health insurance coverage if tax credits on insurance premiums are not extended.
I read that Republicans think too many people are enrolled in Medicaid, so they want to cut $625 billion from Medicaid and $300 billion from SNAP.
People who benefit from Medicaid and supplemental food and nutrition programs are the most vulnerable people–mostly children and the elderly–among us. So when you cut Medicaid because too many are enrolled, who’s the Decider? Who decides who gets kicked out? Without healthcare and food assistance where do these people go? They don’t just disappear. They’ll still be there. I suspect hospital emergency rooms will become the obvious healthcare option. If you’re hungry and poor, what are your options? When you distress a population, is it possible that crime will rise too?
What’s really behind these cuts? We hear that the most impoverished are being asked to pay this price so that billionaires and the very wealthy can reap the benefits of tax cuts. Billionaires who can buy their own hospitals are going to pay less in taxes. The poor get poorer (and hungrier and sicker) and the rich get richer.
So, Dear Andy Harris, how is this OK?
Senator Mitch McConnell says about these cuts, “They’ll get over it.” I don’t think “they” will get over it, but I think we will remember.
Marion O Arnold
Talbot County
David Owen says
Did you get a response back from Harris ? If so can you post, publish it ?
WILLIAM KEPPEN says
Just like Trump, Absentee Andy, is busy creating fake bookie men, trying hard to distract Americans from Trump’s destructive policies. Don’t fall for it.
Anne C Stalfort says
Two excellent letters. I too await Harris’answer. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to care what we think.
Matt LaMotte says
The “B, B Bill” wending its way through Congress is the culmination of the decades-long Project 2025 effort to turn back time. It’s all about the cruelty, protecting self-serving politicians as well as preservation of a time long passed. What a sorry bunch of politicians – Rep & Dem – we’ve voted ourselves into!
Eva M. Smorzaniuk MD says
Many thanks to both writers who have presented the facts that plainly show how horrific the impact of Trumpian/Republican policies will be. It seems we are destined to repeat the awful history of the “Gilded Age” of the late 19th century. The robber barons are again taking power!