Newsom Judge Under Major Fire After Illegal Alien Does the Unthinkable

Federal officials are demanding that California Governor Gavin Newsom hand over a Venezuelan illegal alien accused of fatally stabbing a retired father outside his own home, just one day after a Newsom-appointed judge released the suspect from jail.

Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, who has been in the United States since 2007, was freed despite an active immigration detainer and a history of criminal activity. Within roughly 24 hours of that release, authorities say he attempted a burglary at the Martinez home of 68-year-old Todd Stewart. When Stewart confronted him in the front yard, the suspect allegedly stabbed the retiree to death.

Video footage released by the Department of Homeland Security shows the two men struggling on the sidewalk in the moments surrounding the attack. DHS officials did not mince words about the role of state policies. “This Venezuelan illegal alien STABBED A FATHER TO DEATH in sanctuary California. @CAgovernor must NOT RELEASE this murderer from jail and turn him over to us so we can REMOVE him from our nation,” the agency posted.

Another DHS statement drove the point home: “Another innocent American was killed because of California’s reckless sanctuary policies. How many more innocent people have to die before Gavin Newsom and sanctuary politicians stop playing games with the safety of Americans?”

The judge who granted pretrial release, Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Nichelle Holmes, was appointed by Newsom in 2024. Iriarte-Valdez had been jailed for violating the terms of home detention monitoring tied to a residential burglary case. Prosecutors later charged him with murder, multiple burglary counts, receiving stolen property, trespassing, and other offenses, along with enhancements.

Iriarte-Valdez also faces a charge of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse and has a prior criminal record that includes violation of a court-ordered protective order. He was originally admitted legally during the George W. Bush administration but later became classified as an illegal alien.

Homeland Security officials say the case is a direct result of California’s refusal to cooperate fully with federal immigration enforcement. They are pressing for the suspect to be turned over for removal rather than released again into the community.

The killing of Todd Stewart has renewed intense scrutiny of sanctuary policies that prioritize non-cooperation with federal authorities over public safety. Family and community members are left mourning a retiree who was simply protecting his home.

Whether Newsom will reverse course and allow federal authorities to take custody remains an open and urgent question for California residents living under the same policies.