An Escondido boy is dead. Why did Trump officials bait Gov. Newsom about him?

Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz Photo courtesy of Department of the Homeland Assurance An Escondido family continues to mourn the death of -year-old Aidan Antonio Torres De Paz who was killed in a hit-and-run in front of his home The suspected driver Hector Amador Balderas is an immigrant who allegedly crossed into the country illegally And in the days since Balderas arrest his incident has developed into yet another flashpoint between President Donald Trump and Gov Gavin Newsom one that raises questions about custody responsibility justice and politics ICE s detainer request The boy was playing with a soccer ball Nov when he was run down leaving him critically injured Police publicized Aidan s death two days later and arrested Balderas also of Escondido the next day The suspect on Wednesday entered a not guilty plea to a felony hit-and-run charge His bail initially was increased to at the court hearing But the incident had taken a turn on Tuesday when the Department of Homeland Measure revealed that Balderas a Mexican national had crossed the edge illegally and been deported four times After his fifth illegal passing he is accused of killing Aidan DHS did not offer a timeline for the immigration actions why the suspect had been deported or how much of his time in the U S has been spent in San Diego County The department also did not answer an email requesting more information on Balderas immigration history Hector Amador Balderas in a mugshot Photo courtesy of the Department of Homeland Shield But the agency did say in its declaration that it had lodged an immigration detainer with the San Diego County Sheriff s Office What is a detainer The request allows DHS through ICE to place what is in effect a hold when a person is subject to release from law enforcement custody Federal authorities ask the local agency to notify them so ICE can pick the person up before he or she returns to the streets According to the Sheriff s office ICE did so on Nov After a review of Balderas criminal history the Immigration Detainer was rejected Sheriff s representatives disclosed in a Wednesday declaration pointing to a law that limits local law enforcement s cooperation with federal immigration agents The DHS report offered in advance of that rejection explained ICE anticipates the detainer will not be honored Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin directed her ire over that anticipated rejection at Newsom not at Sheriff Kelly Martinez McLaughlin addressed the governor saying that DHS was calling on YOU to do the right thing and honor ICE s arrest detainer The Sheriff s office though declared it does not hold individuals based on federal detainer warrants whether in Balderas occurrence or any other The agency will not transfer an individual to immigration functionaries unless authorized by a judicial warrant or based upon a qualifying conviction as per state law Detainers are directly addressed in the response by the Sheriff s office to Senate Bill often referred to as the sanctuary state law Agents published SB updates to its policies and procedures in September and further fine-tuned them a year later in a document that is available to the constituents on SDSO s website Legal experts commented in cases like this criminal law takes precedence over immigration actions ICE can t forcibly take a person out of state custody for purposes of deportation revealed Gabriel Jack Chin a professor at UC Davis School of Law Deporting Balderas now would leave the hit-and-run occurrence open and the man accused of the crime free to cross the limit for a sixth time A spokesman for the District Attorney s Office declined to comment on this pending criminal occurrence Word games DHS continued the dispute Wednesday when functionaries posted on X that Governor Newsom is REFUSING to honor the ICE detainer for an illegal alien who killed an -year-old boy before asking When will Governor Newsom stop releasing criminals into our neighborhoods and putting American lives at hazard In another tweet DHS called Balderas a murderer and accused him of being a violent criminal who California will let roam free Newsom the tweet explained was playing word games In reality both sides are Balderas is accused not of murder but of hit-and-run which is not classified as a violent crime by the FBI in its annual compilation of criminal activity in the U S And his bail at is high leaving it unlikely that he will roam free As the Sheriff s office noted to comply with SB local law enforcement won t turn over a suspect to federal leaders without a conviction or warrant Benjamin Gonzalez-O Brien a San Diego State University political science professor stated DHS regards the boy s death as a chance to again attack sanctuary statutes If undocumented immigrants are seen as violent criminals then the populace may see these tactics as justified he commented Newsom s press office called the DHS accusations a complete lie As we have repeatedly stated The state coordinates with ICE on the deportation of convicted criminals California honors federal criminal warrants Nothing prohibits the federal authorities from doing its job in this incident Yet SB clearly offers roadblocks Once the Balderas matter comes to a conclusion the federal authorities as Newsom noted can pursue deportation proceedings But that could be months or years away clearly outside of DHS s desired timeline What s next According to online court records as of Saturday Balderas has not posted bond and remains in jail in Otay Mesa He is due back in court Friday Meanwhile an online charity fundraiser for the Torres De Paz family has raised more than It is called Justice for Aidan