On Wednesday, June 6, Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney danced a celebratory jig after a federal district court ruled the federal government cannot eliminate grants to the “sanctuary city” when it refuses to hand over dangerous criminal illegal aliens in its custody to federal immigration officials. If not Kenney, then surely the city’s judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials will rue that day when its policies lead to the death of innocents as Denver’s sanctuary city policies did in early 2017.
In October 2016, Ever Valles was arrested for car theft and other charges. When the U.S. Department of Homeland Security learned of his arrest, it asked Denver to be told of any pending release because he is “an immigration enforcement priority” due to his “criminal history” and because he is a “citizen of Mexico,” a “known gang member,” and suspected of entering the country illegally. DHS “request[ed]” Denver “notify DHS as early as practicable (at least 48 hours, if possible) before the alien is released,” and “maintain custody of the alien for a period NOT TO EXCEED 48 HOURS beyond the time when he/she would otherwise have been released … to allow DHS to assume custody.”
Nonetheless, on Dec. 20, 2016, Valles was released at 11:59 p.m. after Denver sent a fax to DHS at 11:33 p.m. DHS offices showed the fax arrived at 12:37 a.m.
Seven weeks later, almost to the hour, in the cold, dark morning of Feb. 7, 2017, Valles and one of his jailhouse buddies, wearing hoods and masks, were at Sheridan Avenue’s light rail train station, 2.5 miles west of Mile High Stadium where the Denver Broncos play. There they encountered 32-year-old Tim Cruz of Denver, with whom they at first appeared (from surveillance videos) to engage in nonthreatening conversation — but Valles and his friends soon demanded money from Cruz. Then, they rifled through his pockets, led him off, and, execution-style, shot him dead.
When Cruz’s family learned that, but for the refusal of Denver to hold Valles for DHS, his killer would have been in Mexico, they were “livid” over the “senseless” death of a “unique, big-hearted” man.
Denver called Cruz’s murder “a tragedy,” pronounced “its sincere condolences to his family and friends in this difficult time,” but blamed “the system.”
That is utter nonsense. Denver has been a “sanctuary city” for 20 years. In 2014, so outrageous was its conduct (Denver rejected outright 194 DHS notices) that the Obama administration put Denver in the top 10 of jurisdictions that refuse to recognize its authority in violation of at least one federal statute, which makes it a felony to “conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, [an illegal] alien in any place….” Worse yet, Denver is unrepentant. Early in 2017, Denver stopped sending the DHS its daily booking sheets and later that year, after Cruz’s murder, it strengthened its sanctuary city policies.
Weeks ago, a sentencing hearing of Cruz’s killers was held before Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones. The gunman, a citizen named Nathan Valdez, was sentenced to 58 years in prison for second degree murder and other charges. Valles was sentenced to 29 years for aggravated robbery and accessory to murder, despite agreeing to an open-ended sentence that might have earned him as little as 16 years behind bars. The courtroom was packed with relatives and friends of Cruz, some wearing T-shirts bearing his image, who listened tearfully as his sister Sherry Montoya spoke about his life and the family’s love for her brother. As she did, pausing when emotion threatened to overcome her, photographs displayed in the courtroom revealed the magnitude of the family’s loss.
Judge Jones expressed his compassion for the family, Prosecutor Adrienne Greene fought zealously for justice, and sheriff deputies solicitously shielded the family from video replays of the tragic night that took Cruz’s life. None of them, unlike Mayor Kenney, appeared ready to break out in a dance.
William Perry Pendley is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, has argued cases before the Supreme Court and worked in the Department of the Interior during the Reagan administration. He is the author of Sagebrush Rebel: Reagan’s Battle with Environmental Extremists and Why It Matters Today.
