Who’s really to blame for tragic illegal immigrant DWI case in NJ?

The story of Raul Luna-Perez just keeps getting worse.

He’s the man who authorities say has been in the country illegally and was arrested for domestic violence in 2023 and arrested twice for drunk driving in March and April of this year.

With the ICE crackdown on undocumented immigrants with police records, he could have easily been handed over to federal authorities in the spring. Instead, in this sanctuary state of New Jersey with its ill-conceived Immigrant Trust Directive, he was set free both times.

Then what authorities claim was a third drunk driving incident ended in a crash that, according to reports, killed a mother and her 11-year-old daughter. Luna-Perez, who the feds say was living in the country illegally in Red Bank, reportedly drove on a residential street at 60 mph while triple the legal drunk driving limit.

He crashed into the victim’s car, and the mother died at the scene while the young girl was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to authorities.

Politicians and citizens alike are screaming. Yes, if the facts presented are accurate, the responsibility lies at the feet of Raul Luna-Perez.

SEE ALSO: The problem with holding parents accountable for kids’ crimes

But there’s plenty of blame to go around.

Gov. Murphy’s policy of not cooperating with ICE has come under scrutiny, and I definitely join the chorus of assigning blame there. Yet there’s something else that needs addressing.

This could have been anyone with a drinking problem, even a U.S. citizen. Because we have gotten too lax on punishing drunk driving.

First of all, it takes far too long for these cases to be adjudicated.

Second, once there’s a second DUI arrest so close to the first, we need a mechanism by which to legally keep these people off the street. Mandatory alcohol rehab might be a start.

Third, the penalties changed.

In August of 2019, Governor Murphy signed into law much shorter license suspensions for drunk driving cases, allowing the convicted to continue driving with a mandatory ignition interlock device.

I have no problem with the interlock, but mandate that after a good, long suspension, not in place of one. It sends the wrong message. And jail time is practically unheard of.

While all this is in part to blame, another factor is just how long it takes these cases to go to court. I’ve heard of drunk driving incidents that weren’t resolved for an entire year. I doubt Raul Luna-Perez’s March and April arrests were close to seeing a courtroom when he is alleged to have killed the mother and child.

We need to rethink our sanctuary state policies. We also need swifter justice and a deeper look at how we’re punishing drunk driving.