The U.S. Border Patrol swept a Home Depot parking lot near California’s capital, Sacramento, this week, arresting nearly a dozen illegal aliens and showing that opposition from California officials is not deterring federal immigration enforcement in the sanctuary state.
The Thursday morning operation, which included nabbing one illegal with nearly five dozen criminal bookings and a fentanyl conviction, was captured in a Fox News ride-along.
Foot chases can be seen as well as the takedown of a man who claimed to be an American citizen and had allegedly slashed a tire on a federal vehicle.
Gregory Bovino, U.S. Border Patrol chief for the El Centro Sector, told the news network such raids will continue in California in search of criminal aliens, saying:
There is no sanctuary city, Sacramento is not a sanctuary city, the state of California is not a sanctuary state, there is no sanctuary anywhere. We’ll be here. You’ll probably see us in many other locations as well. We’re here to stay, we’re not going anywhere. We’re going to effect this mission and secure the homeland.
According to Fox, the habitual criminal apprehended is Mexican national Javier Dimas-Alcantara, who had 67 prior jail bookings with convictions dating as far back as the 1980s. His rap sheet includes felony burglary, illegal firearm possession, and a host of narcotics possession and distribution offenses, the network reported.
California Governor Gavin Newsom reacted to the Home Depot sweep.
“The Border Patrol should do their jobs – at the border—instead of continuing their tirade statewide of illegal racial profiling and illegal arrests,” Newsom said in a statement obtained by Sacramento station KCRA.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin had a different take. “Dimas has been convicted of a myriad of offenses — you would not want this man to be your neighbor,” she told Fox News. “And yet politicians like [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom defend criminals who terrorize American communities and demonize law enforcement who defend those same communities.”
Others apprehended reportedly included two previously deported illegal aliens, including one Guatemalan felon and a Mexican national arrested for driving without a license.
According to several reports, the federal vehicle had to be driven off on its rim after the raid. The man claiming to be a U.S. citizen and accused of slashing the tire was arrested.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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