Tom Homan vows action as California set to release illegal immigrant who killed two teens
Outrage is growing after the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced it will release an undocumented immigrant convicted of killing two American teenagers, more than six years before his original sentence was set to end.
Trump border czar Tom Homan says he’s stepping in.
"I will work with [Homeland Security] Secretary Noem on this case, and I guarantee you, if they don’t honor the detainer, we’ll have ICE agents outside that facility to take custody of this individual and deport him," Homan said Wednesday on "America’s Newsroom."
Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano was driving drunk at high speed in 2021 when he crashed into a car carrying 19-year-olds Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin. Both teens were killed in the fiery wreck. Ortega-Anguiano was later convicted of two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2022.
Now, California officials say he will be released early, sparking outrage from the victims' families and immigration officials.
"He's been deported several times, which means he's a felon," Homan said. "Re-entry to the country, deported. Deportation is a felony. We will prosecute him, and we will deport him."
According to ICE, Ortega-Anguiano has a long criminal history, including prior convictions for burglary in 2005, vehicle theft in 2007, and battery with kidnapping in 2014. Homan says those prior offenses, and his repeated illegal re-entry into the country, make the case especially egregious.
ICE has issued a detainer requesting custody of Ortega-Anguiano upon his release. However, California’s sanctuary state policies raise questions about whether local officials will comply.
The families of Varfolomeev and Osokin have pushed back on the release and have written letters to the state demanding that Ortega-Anguiano remain behind bars. They also fear that if he is deported, he could find a way to re-enter the country illegally again.
Homan, a longtime enforcer of immigration law, says these types of cases are what drive his passion.
"Everybody asks why I get so emotional on network TV, why I get emotional when I testify," Homan said. "I've met hundreds of angel moms and dads and hear every story. I'll never forget any of those stories. It's just a tragedy."
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The border czar remains at the center of ongoing legal battles tied to President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Since the president’s return to office, his administration has faced mounting legal challenges, including over plans to end birthright citizenship and expand deportations of undocumented immigrants.
In May, the Supreme Court is set to hear a case involving three federal judges who issued nationwide injunctions against Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.
Homan also criticized recent rulings, including one by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who temporarily blocked the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members to El Salvador.
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But Homan says these legal obstacles won’t derail their efforts.
"There’s a reason they’re district court judges. They’re not national judges," he said.
"District court judges can't overrule the president's executive orders. This is what we got to fix right away in the Supreme Court so we can actually keep the president’s promise to the American people that we're going to remove national security threats."