California’s Sanctuary Policies Allow 10-Time Deportee to Commit Brutal Murder

California’s dangerous sanctuary policies have allowed a 10-time deportee to commit a brutal murder in the Golden State, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Herbert Nixon Flores, a 46-year-old Salvadoran criminal alien, is the primary suspect in the murder and shooting of Karen Ruiz. Days after the murder, Flores fled to Texas where he eventually shot and killed himself. 

Flores maintained an extensive 30-year criminal record—including crimes such as burglary, possession and transportation of a controlled substance, and driving under the influence—all of which led to 10 separate deportations. Despite these deportations, Flores still managed to return and live in California with ease due to the state’s sanctuary policies.

California’s state sanctuary policy, SB 54, prohibits local and state law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities like ICE, which ultimately shields criminal illegal aliens from arrests and/or deportations.

The state’s sanctuary policy enabled the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to reject an ICE detainer—a request to remove a criminal alien from the country— placed on Flores in September after he was arrested for domestic violence.

Had the LAPD cooperated with ICE in this incident (or the numerous previous incidents), this tragedy would have been most likely prevented and kept Flores off the streets.

This is not the first time California’s sanctuary policies have jeopardized the state’s public safety. In ICE’s Operation Rise, conducted between September 28 and October 2, 2020, in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco areas, the agency apprehended 128 illegal aliens who held convictions or pending charges for crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, sexual offenses against children, weapons offenses, and domestic violence. Thankfully, ICE’s actions helped placed these individuals behind bars and removed them from American communities.

Sanctuary jurisdictions continue to threaten public safety in California and nationwide. They have grown quickly in recent years and will likely only be proliferated under the incoming Biden administration as it has made clear it will oppose enforcement of immigration laws. Efforts to curb sanctuary policies largely falls under Biden’s new Attorney General Merrick Garland through the use of federal grants, and it remains to be seen if he will uphold the rule of law or give into the radical immigration priorities of his administration.