San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro refused to allow that members of violent gangs should be deported before they commit crimes while participating in gang activities.

“I believe in ensuring that America is free of folks that have committed violent crimes,” Castro, who received national attention as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention, told Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va., during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform.

“With regard to the hypothetical,” Castro also said, “I readily concede that I’m not in law enforcement, I’m not a technical expert in that regard.”

Forbes explained that he was asking about the issue in light of a rape that took place in which the accused perpetrator could not have been deported due to having protected status.

““The country’s thrust up to this point in fighting gang activity is wait until they kill somebody, hurt somebody or rape somebody and then go after them,” Forbes said in 2005 when he “introduced a bill that would allow the government to deport aliens and immigrants who are not permanent residents of the United States and belong to criminal gangs,” as The Washington Times reported.