Unfortunately, anyone who follows immigration closely saw this one coming from a mile away.
A semi-truck and a small pickup truck collided last week, causing the semi to burst into flames on Denver’s busy Interstate 70. The crash killed the 57-year-old driver of the semi, John Anderson, who was trapped inside his truck as it burned. The driver of the pickup truck, an illegal alien, immediately fled the scene of the crime.
Twenty-six year-old Ivan Zamarripa-Castaneda (Castaneda), was eventually found and arrested by the Denver Police Department. He was charged with vehicular homicide, driving under the Influence, and felony hit and run. A state court ordered him held on $25,000 bail.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately issued a detainer request to the Denver Sheriff’s Department, despite the fact that the Department’s sanctuary policies have prevented cooperation with ICE detainers since 2014. The Sheriff’s Department insisted that it would only respect the detainer request if a federal judicial warrant was issued, something that is not required for ICE to arrest an illegal alien. A spokesperson commented that ICE arrests and places detainer requests on “thousands and thousands” of people a day, and obtaining a federal warrant for each and every one of them would be “extremely time-consuming” and beyond the agency’s resource constraints.
Castaneda quickly made bail and was released by the Sheriff’s Department one hour before ICE was notified. That incredibly short notice ensured that immigration agents couldn’t get their hands on Castaneda and place him in deportation proceedings. He has since disappeared. (As Gomer Pyle would say: “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”)
How many times must law-abiding members of our communities be killed before we finally learn our lesson? This case is eerily similar to the tragedy of 21-year-old Sarah Root, the Omaha, Nebraska woman who was killed just days after graduating from college by an illegal alien drunk driver. He also was released on bond after being arrested. He also fled, never to be seen again.
While it won’t have any immediate impact on the abhorrent conduct of the Denver Sheriff’s Department in its handling of illegal alien detainers, a recent ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will make a big difference elsewhere. The court has found that states have the power to force local police and sheriff’s departments to cooperate in turning over illegal immigrants to the federal government for deportation. While the decision only applies to the Fifth Circuit, it could eventually have national ramifications.
But until it does, we must all face the fact that, in some jurisdictions, the authorities seem to have more empathy for criminal aliens that legal residents, and are more interested in shielding illegal alien criminals than protecting the rest of us.
13 Comments
The guy did turn himself in the other day. We live in metro Denver so this is the umpteenth time they have done this. They are also spending $200000 in tax payers money to help illegals in deportation proceedings.
We dont live in Denver so we didnt vote these people in.
Unfortunately, Crooked Senator Flake is at it again. He won’t just go away after being rejected by voters in Arizona through low approval ratings in polls, but is now talking about challenging Trump in the primaries in 2020.
Crooked Flake mocked Trump’s border wall, and doesn’t care about protecting the lives of Americans.
Shame on you Crooked Senator Flake!
Been abused by Anna l Juarez an immigration lawyer said she was going to change the law to suit them and that my education did matter because I was a lawyer. They are getting out there. Must be power that gets them to stinking thinking
Colorado is getting like California. Two **** holes that care about illegal immigrants more than the citizens that get killed by them.
Here’s another dead American who has a family , just like anyone else ,and his life is not given the just respect to at least insure some one pays for taking his life because it may affect their political standing these gutless politicians who put their political agenda ahead of their judicial responsibility need to be held criminally responsible as well as the supposed ” law enforcement officers” who allowed him to go free now he’s in another town , still in the country using another name,,maybe it will be one of their family members next do you people just not get it
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What can you say? It ain’t just California anymore. What is it to sacrifice a dozen or so Americans every day as long as greedy employers can have their tax payer subsidized illegal alien labor.
Hillary apparently could not take a break in a foreign country from trashing those who voted against her and her open borders policies. She was in India and said the people who voted for Trump “did not like black people having rights”. What went barely noticed was her praise for the Trans Pacific Partnership deal, often described as NAFTA on steroids and a surrender of American sovereignty to international organizations, and cancelled by Trump when he took office.
This just proves you cannot trust her. Initially she supported it, but during the 2016 primaries she was forced by both Trump and Bernie Sanders into opposing it. But a lot of people said she would have Congress make a couple cosmetic changes and then sign it, which is likely given what she’s saying now. She’s like John McCain who gets tough on border security every 6 years when he has a primary opponent and then immediately goes back to being mr. amnesty when he’s reelected.
these freaking commies are pissing me off…that blood is on their hands….MF’s
Everyday 12 Americans are murdered and 8 children molested by Mexicans in our OPEN AND UNDEFENDED BORDERS.
Shame on Sheriff department. He should never been given bond and released. I live near south border, San Diego is know illegals with attitude not following our laws of our land. Many drive with no DMV licenses, no car insurance, rap sheet miles long are hurting Americans. I deal with smugglers crossing with large groups few miles from me. Open land near Tecate. Illegal human traffic have their own agenda, Drugs and criminals are common. Border check stop(HW (94)) is few miles from me, agents are trying. but it not enough. Illegals are sneaky, hide in bushes, run in front of my car on my way into town. My rual area have been robbed, small animals taken, our dogs wounded or killed, cut our fences, take water from our wells, They do carry knives……..They demand water, food, $$$ clothes, and ride in. I had large groups and anchor moms knocking at my door. End families crossing, end future DACA. Secure our border, stop this invasion, build the wall. protect our agents, properties owners and America. My Mexican family came legally, followed immigration laws years ago. Please help. Thank you Trump.
A good point that patriotic Americans of Mexican heritage are also victims of crimes committed by illegal aliens.
The open borders crowd likes to label anyone who is for border security a “racist”, but how is this racist when the lives of Americans of all races are protected by border security and the enforcement of our immigration laws?
If this illegal alien disappears, as seems likely, his forfeited bail money should be put in a fund to compensate the deceased driver’s estate. At least, in that way the driver’s death will be somewhat compensated.
Under ideal circumstances, the person who posted the bail should be investigated to see if he played any part in the disappearance of the alleged drunk driver/illegal alien and if so, he should be prosecuted for his part in the disappearance.
Further, ideally, a law should be enacted that states, in essence, if a person assists a charged criminal to escape justice, the person who does so can be charged with the crime of assisting a prisoner to escape and his sentence, upon conviction, would be the same if he had committed the crime himself.
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