In response to news that Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano — a twice-deported illegal immigrant with a violent criminal history — will be released from prison after serving just 3.5 years of a 10-year sentence for killing two Orange County teenagers in a 2021 DUI crash, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) issued the following statement:
“Absolutely heartbreaking,” said Leader Jones. “The deaths of Anya Varfolomeev and Nikolay Osokin were entirely preventable. California’s sanctuary state policies and soft-on-crime approach are to blame.
“Now the Newsom Administration is compounding that tragedy by releasing their killer — a twice-deported illegal immigrant with a violent record — after serving just 3.5 years of a 10-year sentence. What message does that send? That in California, justice is optional and innocent lives are expendable.
“Even worse, because of our sanctuary laws, there is no guarantee this violent offender will be handed over to ICE. He could end up right back in our communities, as he has before, putting more lives at risk. UNACCEPTABLE!
“That’s why I introduced Senate Bill 554. It requires law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities when it comes to convicted, violent illegal immigrants like Ortega-Anguiano. Safety must come before sanctuary.
“SB 554 will be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee next Tuesday. I urge my colleagues to take a hard look at what happened to these two young people, and ask themselves how many more lives will be lost before we fix these dangerous policies,” concluded Leader Jones.
While federal immigration authorities have put out a detainer for Ortega-Anguiano upon his release, California’s sanctuary state laws have raised questions on whether the detainer request will be fulfilled.
Leader Jones’s SB 554 would require law enforcement agencies to cooperate with immigration officials in cases involving violent offenders who are in the country illegally. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee next Tuesday, April 29th. Click here for the bill’s fact sheet.