We have been covering the horrific story of an illegal truck driver who was somehow issued a commercial driver’s license in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California, only to kill a young newlywed couple in a crash in Oregon in November. It’s far from the only such tragedy, however, as an “undocumented” driver mowed down an 11-year-old boy in the California city of Escondido in a hit-and-run the day before Thanksgiving.
Incredibly, according to the Department of Homeland Security, authorities in the Golden State are refusing to turn over the driver, Hector Balderas-Aheelor, a criminal who has been deported four times and was charged with felony hit-and-run charge for the death of the boy, Antonio Torres De Paz. Balderas-Aheelor pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
The ensuing spat between Newsom and DHS played out online as Newsom huffed and puffed and said that nothing prevented the department from “doing its job.” However, DHS fired back with a detainer request marked “rejected”:
You’re playing word games to keep an illegal alien murderer in America. California REJECTED the ICE detainer for an illegal alien charged with killing an 11-year-old boy.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 3, 2025
Gavin Newsom says he’ll only cooperate with ICE if the criminal illegal alien is CONVICTED, meaning… https://t.co/xCX3OoTXHX pic.twitter.com/3TslxjZADq
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.
Hector Balderas-Aheelor has been previously deported FOUR times and committed a felony when he illegally entered for a fifth time. This violent criminal must be deported ASAP.
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Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin spoke to the Daily Caller Foundation and ripped the governor for gaslighting with his wordplay:
“The sanctuary politicians of California and Governor Newsom once again REFUSED to protect the safety and security of American families,” McLaughlin told the DCNF. “It’s despicable that our ICE arrest detainer of a criminal illegal alien who killed an 11-year-old boy would be rejected. When will Governor Newsom and his fellow sanctuary politicians stop releasing criminals into our neighborhoods and putting American lives at risk?”
11-year-old Aiden Torres was killed during a hit-and-run in California by Hector Balderas-Aheelor, a Mexican national who has been deported FOUR TIMES.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 3, 2025
Newscum harbored this illegal in his state. pic.twitter.com/Jd2u3uvmAT
The damage that so-called sanctuary cities and states have done to this country is immeasurable. Newsom can spin and hustle all he wants, but the fact at the end of the day remains that an 11-year-old will never see his teen years, and it’s a tragedy, and it never should have happened. The Left calls ICE and its deportation efforts under Donald Trump "cruel," but the disastrous policies of Joe Biden, Gavin Newsom, et al. are where the true cruelty lies.
Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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