A 24-hour period last Wednesday and Thursday saw two cases of male illegal immigrants allegedly murdering women in two separate U.S. states: California and Texas. In both instances, the women’s murder could have been prevented by authorities had they enforced existing U.S. immigration laws and/or had the U.S.-Mexico border been functionally secured. The California murder involved an illegal immigrant who had been previously deported five times with seven felonies and the Texas murder involved an illegal immigrant who had been deported on four previous occasions. In the Texas case, local Laredo police had been called to the man’s house on at least three occasions over domestic disputes, yet they failed to contact Border Patrol about the man, according to federal agents.
The California murder was covered by Breitbart California’s Michelle Moons. She wrote:
Five-time deportee and seven-time convicted felon Francisco Sanchez has been jailed on suspicion of shooting and killing 31-year-old Kathryn Steinle Wednesday evening while taking photos with her father at Pier 14 in San Francisco, California. Sanchez was freed after the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department refused to honor a request by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain him, following a policy adopted in 2014. He was arrested soon after the shooting.
The immigration status and history in the Texas case was broken by this reporter when sources within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency revealed that the murderer had been previously deported. The alleged confessed murderer is named Juan Francisco De Luna Vasquez and he allegedly beat his wife to death with a hammer. I wrote:
Breitbart Texas has exclusively confirmed that a man who confessed to murdering his wife with a hammer in Laredo, Texas is a four-time deported illegal immigrant who would not have been in the U.S. had he not been able to illegally cross back into the country multiple times from Mexico after his deportations. In addition, the Laredo Police Department continuously encountered the man in violent episodes with his wife, yet did not notify Border Patrol, according to federal agents who spoke with Breitbart Texas on the condition of anonymity.
Another problem with the alleged murderer having been allowed to stay in the U.S., even after the three admitted contacts by the Laredo police, was presented by a federal agent who spoke with Breitbart Texas on the matter. As this reporter previously wrote:
The Laredo Police Department admitted that this was the third violent encounter they had with the illegal immigrant and his wife. According to the federal agents who spoke with Breitbart Texas, the Laredo police did not notify Border Patrol that they were encountering a violent illegal immigrant. One federal agent told Breitbart Texas, “If the Laredo PD had notified Border Patrol, this woman would still be alive today. She is dead because officers of the Laredo PD failed to notify Border Patrol. Whether or not to notify Border Patrol agents is at the discretion of the individual police officer responding to the call. These officers chose not to call Border Patrol and a woman is dead now.”
The Laredo Police Department Spokesperson Joe Baeza has been an outspoken critic of officers informing Border Patrol about encounters with illegal immigrants.
Follow Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby on Twitter: @brandondarby