Exclusive: Unauthorized Immigrant Released Under Biden’s Policy Allegedly Involved in Fatal Police Chase

EXCLUSIVE: A tragic incident involving an undocumented immigrant from Colombia has taken place in Southern California, resulting in the death of a motorist following a police pursuit, according to law enforcement officials.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that 21-year-old Darwin Felipe Bahamon Martinez, who had previously entered the United States near San Diego in 2023, was released under the current administration’s policies.

According to a statement from the ICE Los Angeles field office, “Bahamon Martinez unlawfully crossed into the U.S. near Chula Vista, California, in August 2023.” The statement continued, “He was released into the country due to the Biden administration’s ‘catch-and-release’ policies. If he had not been released, the 59-year-old victim might still be alive today.”

The incident unfolded on January 21 in Anaheim when police attempted to pull over Martinez, who was driving a Jeep Gladiator, for reckless driving. When officers approached the vehicle, Martinez allegedly fled the scene at high speed, leading to the fatal crash.

Martinez was driving a Jeep Gladiator in Anaheim Jan. 21 when police officers initiated a traffic stop for reckless driving. When the officers approached the Jeep on foot, Martinez sped away, authorities said. 

A brief chase ensued before the Jeep collided with a Honda driven by a 59-year-old man in the neighboring city of Placentia. 

The driver was pronounced dead at the crash site. 

Another driver, an 83-year-old woman, was taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries. 

The Anaheim Police Department’s police vehicle.  ( Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

Bahamon Martinez is being held in the Orange County Jail while awaiting criminal proceedings on his homicide charge. ICE lodged an immigration detainer against him Jan. 22.

However, because of California’s sanctuary state laws, local authorities are not compelled to cooperate with ICE to transfer illegal immigrants charged or convicted of crimes into federal custody. 

California school board members believe there is a lot of “fearmongering” happening over immigration enforcement as teachers unions and major city school districts are scolding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Getty Images)

“If local officials in Gavin Newsom’s sanctuary California choose to release Bahamon Martinez into the community, they will put ALL Californians at risk,” ICE said in a news release. “California must honor our immigration detainer. Otherwise, ICE will be forced to re-arrest this criminal illegal alien at-large.”

In jurisdictions with sanctuary laws, ICE officers typically have to go into communities to look for illegal immigrants targeted for deportation. The agency has called for greater cooperation with local authorities amid confrontations between federal officers and agitators in Minnesota, where local officials have accused ICE of terrorizing neighborhoods. 

Critics of sanctuary laws say such laws are responsible for releasing dangerous criminals back onto the street.