Seven Years after Murder, a Father Still Wonders Why an Alien Wasn’t Deported

Although opinions about illegal immigration vary widely and are passionately argued on both sides, everyone should be able to agree that in the name of public safety, criminal aliens must be deported.

…should have been deported. Instead, killed an innocent American.

In his appearance on Fox News (watch it here), Jamiel Shaw retold his tragic story about how in 2008 illegal alien and gang member Pedro Espinoza killed his son, Jamiel II, close to the family home. The shooting occurred in Los Angeles, and many Californians recall the details as if the murder took place only yesterday.

Arrested on a weapons charge, Espinoza, instead of being deported back to Mexico, was released and killed Shaw one day later. Espinoza, a member of the 18th Street gang, wrongly identified Shaw as a rival gang member because the victim was wearing a red, Spider-Man backpack. Gang banger Espinoza had a long criminal record dating back to his teens, and once behind bars had repeatedly engaged in violent attacks on his jailers.

Americans remain at risk from random violence perpetrated by illegal aliens like Espinoza. A leaked October 2014 Department of Homeland Security internal report found that nearly 167,000 convicted criminal aliens with final removal orders are still in the United States and at large.

Shaw wondered about President Obama’s indifference to his son’s case and others like it. He asked: “Do black lives really matter? Or does it matter only if you are shot by a white person or a white policeman?” Commenting on Obama’s executive action, Shaw said that “it’s a bad idea and he knows it.”

In 2012, the Los Angeles Superior Court sentenced Espinoza to death.