A survey carried out this past July by the Wall Street Journal found that voters think congressional Republicans are better at handling illegal immigration than their Democratic colleagues.

One example of that disparity came this week when a Democratic Senate staff member was fired for attempting to help a foreign criminal get released from custody. 

Staffer allegedly pretended to be an attorney

That's according to the Daily Caller, which cited allegations leveled against last week by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) against Edward York.

The Daily Caller noted how York was at the time employed by Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth as a constituent outreach coordinator.

"This [Sen. Duckworth] staff member allegedly claimed to be the lawyer of a 40-year-old illegal immigrant who had been deported to Mexico 4 times and had a DUI conviction, in order to seek his release from custody. He accomplished this by falsifying an official Department of Homeland Security form," DHS wrote in a social media post.

Those words were accompanied by an embedded video clip in which an individual could be seen filling out paperwork at a DHS facility.

Lyons demands that lawmakers "stop the political games"

The social media post was followed up by a letter sent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting Director Todd Lyons to Duckworth's office.

"At approximately 1:29 p.m., an individual identified as Edward York, who, according to publicly available information, is employed as a Constituent Outreach Coordinator for your Senate office, entered the field office lobby, and in a discussion with a federal officer, claimed to be Mr. Ayuzo’s attorney," Lyons wrote.

"Mr. York demanded to speak with his 'client.' This staff member allegedly did so to gain access to the detainee and seek his release from custody, and he accomplished it by falsifying an official Department of Homeland Security (DHS) form," Lyons continued.

"I implore all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, as well as their staff, to stop the political games that put law enforcement and detainees at risk," the ICE head stressed.

"It is my sincere hope that you will advocate on behalf of your constituents who have been victimized by illegal alien crime and work with DHS to remove these criminals from the United States," Lyons went on to add.

Duckworth denies knowledge of incident

The Daily Caller reported that Duckworth responded to Lyons with a letter of her own which denied involvement in the matter.

"Upon reviewing the matter, I can confirm that neither I nor my leadership team was aware of, authorized or directed what your letter describes as the employee’s conduct,"  she declared.