California Governor Gavin Newsom is facing intense backlash after his administration was accused of protecting an illegal alien charged in the death of 11-year-old Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz, who died on Thanksgiving Day after being hit by a vehicle in front of his home in Escondido.
Escondido police arrested Hector Balderas-Aheelor, an illegal alien from Mexico, and charged him with felony hit-and-run causing death or injury. Authorities say Aiden was playing in his yard when he ran into the street to retrieve a soccer ball. Balderas-Aheelor allegedly struck the child and fled the scene, leaving him critically injured. Aiden died from his injuries the next day.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requested that California honor an ICE detainer, which would allow federal immigration agents to take custody of Balderas-Aheelor if he were released before trial. However, California’s sanctuary state policies—which Newsom strongly supports—prohibit cooperation with ICE unless there is a federal criminal warrant.
Newsom’s office pushed back against criticism, stating, “California honors federal criminal warrants,” and denied that the state rejected ICE’s request. But DHS officials released a copy of the detainer that had been refused and accused the governor of playing “word games.”
“You’re playing word games to keep an illegal alien murderer in America,” DHS said in a statement. “Gavin Newsom says he’ll only cooperate with ICE if the criminal illegal alien is CONVICTED, meaning California will let him roam free even though he’s been arrested for FELONY hit-and-run.”
Legal experts have pointed out that no judicial warrants exist in immigration cases, making California’s policy an intentional barrier to federal enforcement. Former immigration judge Andrew Arthur wrote, “Judicial warrants for the detention of aliens do not now exist, have never existed in the immigration context, and likely never will.”
Newsom has consistently backed sanctuary policies, placing California in direct conflict with federal immigration law. As this case gains national attention, critics argue the state is prioritizing politics over public safety—at the cost of innocent lives.
