✅ DHS has a detainer on the man accused of throwing a rock at a school bus

✅ Hernando Garciamorales was charged with burglary in 2006 but remained free

✅ DHS blames New Jersey’s sanctuary policies for allowing the suspect to remain free

TEANECK — The Department of Homeland Security slammed New Jersey for being a "sanctuary state" following a recent local arrest of a man who was in the country illegally.

Hernando Garciamorales, a Mexican national, confessed to police that he threw a rock at the school bus carrying students from the Yeshivat Noam Jewish school home from a class trip on Jan. 4. The rock seriously injured the skull of a schoolgirl

During his detention hearing, prosecutors said Garciamorales had been charged with burglary in 2006 and was not taken into custody on the charge until 2023.

Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin blamed New Jersey for being a "sanctuary state," which she says allowed Garciamorales to be released multiple times. It's not known when Garciamorales entered the United States.

"ICE has lodged an arrest detainer against this monster, and we hope New Jersey’s sanctuary politicians will help us keep him off American streets for good. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, criminal illegal aliens have no place in the U.S.," McLaughlin said.

8-year-old girl seriously injured in Jewish school bus attack

The rock struck an 8-year-old girl in the head, causing a fracture the size of a nickel, which required a titanium mesh plate and screws to be installed in her head, according to coverage of  Garciamorales' detention hearing by The Ridgewood Blog. His attorney argued that he is "clearly not mentally OK," citing Garciamorales' explanation for throwing a rock at the school bus as it being "his enemy and driving fast."

Garciamorales was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal mischief, resisting arrest by flight, and hindering.

A spokesman for the state Attorney General's office said state law allows for cooperation with ICE in regard to anyone charged with a violent crime or convicted of any indictable offense.

"If ICE wishes to detain an individual, it is incumbent on ICE to notify the state correctional facility. If it does not file a detainer request with the facility, our state correctional officers cannot hold the detainee past the time they must be released on their state criminal charges," Davenport said in a statement. "State law ensures that our police officers can effectively tackle violent crime, gun violence, drug trafficking, while ensuring that victims and witnesses can safely come forward to report crimes regardless of their immigration status. Our office’s number one priority is keeping New Jerseyans safe.”

McLaughlin said Homeland Security has relaunched its Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement office. It provided victims of crimes by those in who are in the country illegally access to support services and resources. It was started in 2017 but closed down by the Biden administration, according to McLaughlin.

A Minnesota nurse is the 6th person to die during the US immigration crackdown

By The Associated Press

At least six people have died during the Trump administration's intense immigration enforcement campaign in the U.S., the latest being a 37-year-old man who was shot by a Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis.

Federal authorities immediately described Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen, as an armed agitator who was a threat to immigration officers. But videos showed Pretti’s hands were only holding a phone when a masked Border Patrol officer opened fire on Jan. 24.

Gov. Tim Walz denounced as “despicable” the comments that federal officials made about Pretti.

Pretti, who worked as a nurse, was permitted to possess a handgun in Minnesota. In video of the shooting, an officer appears to pull a gun from Pretti's waist and step away. That's when the first shot was fired, followed by more shots. Pretti was on the ground when he was killed.

His death was the second in January in Minneapolis. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a woman who used her vehicle to block a street and was slowly pulling away.

Last September, Immigration and Customs Enforcement fatally shot a person outside Chicago. Two people have died after being struck by vehicles while fleeing immigration authorities. And a California farmworker fell from a greenhouse and broke his neck during an ICE raid last July.

No officers have been charged.

Driver shot behind the wheel of an SUV

Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, was repeatedly shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. Videos show she was turning the wheels of her Honda Pilot away from officer Jonathan Ross when he opened fire. Trump administration officials have repeatedly defended Ross, claiming his life was at risk.

“I'm not mad at you,” Good, 37, said before Ross fired his gun.

Good's death caused a firestorm in Minnesota. The U.S. Justice Department said it wouldn't share information on the shooting with state authorities.

State and local officials subsequently sued to try to stop the immigration sweeps, which have involved thousands of federal officers. Protesters with whistles have trailed officers who, in response, have deployed tear gas and other chemical irritants.

Cook from Mexico shot during a traffic stop

ICE agents fatally shot Silverio Villegas González during a traffic stop Sept. 12 in suburban Chicago. Relatives said the 38-year-old line cook from Mexico had dropped off a child at day care that morning.

At the time, the Department of Homeland Security said agents were pursuing a man with a history of reckless driving who was in the country illegally. They alleged Villegas González evaded arrest and dragged an officer with his vehicle.

Homeland Security said the officer opened fire fearing for his life and was hospitalized with “serious injuries.” However, local police videos showed the agent walking around and dismissing his own injuries as “nothing major.”

Homeland Security has said the death remains under investigation.

Farmworker fell from greenhouse roof during ICE raid

Authorities were rounding up dozens of farmworkers July 10 at Glass House Farms in southern California when Jaime Alanis fell from the roof of a greenhouse and broke his neck. The 57-year-old laborer from Mexico died at a hospital two days later.

Relatives said Alanis had spent a decade working at the farm, a licensed cannabis grower that also produces tomatoes and cucumbers in Camarillo, about an hour east of Los Angeles. They said he sent his earnings to his wife and daughter in Mexico.

During the raid, Alanis called family to say he was hiding. Officials said he fell about 30 feet (9 meters) from the greenhouse roof.

Homeland Security said Alanis was never in custody and was not being chased by immigration authorities.

Man struck on California freeway after running from officers

A man running away from immigration officers outside a Home Depot store in southern California died after being hit by an SUV while he tried to cross a freeway on Aug. 14.

Police in Monrovia, northeast of Los Angeles, said ICE agents were conducting enforcement operations when the man fled to Interstate 210. He was running across the freeway's eastbound lanes when an SUV hit him and died at a hospital.

The man was identified by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network as Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, 52, of Guatemala.

Homeland Security said Montoya Valdez wasn't being pursued by immigration authorities when he ran.

Gardener from Honduras killed on Virginia interstate

A pickup truck fatally struck Josué Castro Rivera on a highway in Norfolk, Virginia, as he tried to escape authorities during a traffic stop on Oct. 23.

Castro Rivera, 24, of Honduras, was heading to a gardening job with three passengers when ICE officers pulled over the vehicle, according to his brother, Henry Castro.

State and federal authorities said Castro Rivera ran away on foot and was hit by a pickup truck on Interstate 264.

Homeland Security said Castro Rivera’s vehicle was stopped as part of a “targeted, intelligence-based” operation and that Castro Rivera had “resisted heavily and fled.”

His brother said Castro Rivera worked to send money to family in Honduras.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom