A Mexican national illegally present in the United States was involved in a vehicle accident on Christmas Eve that resulted in the death of a 35-year-old woman. Jorge Flores-Villalba, 27, was charged with a felony after fleeing the scene of the fatal accident. Flores-Villalba was arrested on Christmas Day by the Stony Point Town Police Department in New York but was released without bail the same day. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was alerted when the Mexican national's fingerprints revealed that Flores-Villalba had previously been apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol and returned to Mexico after he attempted to illegally enter the country in 2008. ICE rearrested Flores-Villalba on Dec. 30.
In a statement, ICE addressed concerns from the local community as to why this individual was released after such a serious crime and warned about the dangers that sanctuary laws create by preventing local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with ICE.
“ICE understands people in this community are alarmed about the release of this individual after being arrested for a crime of this heart-breaking nature,” said ICE New York Field Office Director Thomas Decker. “This is exactly why ICE and local law enforcement agencies should cooperate to the utmost extent possible and not be limited on how we work together. Creating laws and policies that prevent cooperation between law enforcement agencies just to promote their political agenda, places the safety of the public in danger. Due to the hard work of our officers, we were able to find and arrest this accused criminal, but there are countless others who are released without ICE even knowing, or whom it may take a great amount of resources to find for arrest.”
Fortunately, Flores-Villalba is now in ICE custody, where he is expected to remain pending removal proceedings. If the southern border were secure, we wouldn't have to worry about Flores-Villalba illegally entering the country again in the future.