THE RECENT execution-style murders of three college students in Newark have shocked and horrified residents of our state. The subsequent arrest of an illegal immigrant who had a history of previous charges for rape and assault has only added to the outrage. New Jerseyans are asking how it is possible that someone with no legal right to be in our country and who has a history of arrests for violent crimes could be allowed to roam free to prey on law- abiding residents.

But those are only the most recent in a series of violent crimes linked to illegal immigrants living in New Jersey.