The federal government is seething with anger over the Biden administration’s decision to grant Convention Against Torture (CAT) protections to Alexander Palacios Guevara, a convicted murderer and known member of the ruthless Surenos gang from El Salvador. Despite an active deportation order since February 2024, Guevara was allowed to roam the streets of Los Angeles, shielded by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) under former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. This dangerous criminal, with multiple convictions for murder, attempted murder, assault, rape, and sexual abuse of a minor, exemplifies the catastrophic failure of sanctuary policies and lax immigration enforcement that jeopardize American safety. It’s time to end these policies, revoke CAT protections for criminal illegal aliens, and prioritize their immediate removal from our communities. Approximately 58,000 aliens have been granted CAT protections, creating another avenue for potential abuse similar to the 3 million asylum seekers, where up to 71% of claims are typically denied due to ineligibility or fraud.
Guevara’s case, exposed by ICE operations in Los Angeles, highlights the absurdity of CAT protections, which prevent deportation if an individual claims a risk of torture in their home country. In December 2024, the BIA granted Guevara Deferral of Removal under CAT (DCAT), allowing this Surenos gang member to remain in the U.S. despite his heinous crimes. This decision, made in the waning days of the Biden administration, ties ICE’s hands, forcing agents to keep Guevara in custody while unable to deport him to El Salvador. The Surenos, a transnational gang notorious for violence and drug trafficking, thrive in sanctuary cities like Los Angeles, where local leaders like Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass defend policies that shield criminals with taxpayer funds.
Criminal illegal aliens like Guevara are not only exploiting asylum claims but also abusing CAT protections as a near-guaranteed ticket to remain in the U.S., spreading their gang and cartel operations across American cities. Gangs like the Surenos and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua exploit legal loopholes, claiming fear of persecution or torture to avoid deportation while expanding their drug trafficking, extortion, and violent enterprises. ICE data from 2024 shows over 60% of CAT claims involve individuals with criminal records, clogging the system and delaying deportations. This deliberate misuse of humanitarian protections allows cartels to establish territories in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, turning neighborhoods into battlegrounds for their narco-terrorist enterprises.
Sanctuary policies, which prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE, have turned cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York into havens for dangerous thugs. Guevara’s freedom echoes the tragedy of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student murdered in 2024 by Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant with prior arrests who was released due to lax policies. A 2018 Government Accountability Office study revealed that criminal illegal aliens in sanctuary states like California average six convictions yet remain in the U.S. The Biden administration’s narrowing of deportation criteria in 2021 overwhelmed ICE, allowing the non-detained docket of criminal aliens to soar from 3 million in 2019 to 6 million by 2023. This crisis fuels an epidemic of violence, from sexual assaults to murders, perpetrated by repeat offenders shielded by misguided policies.
The urgency of this situation cannot be overstated. Beyond domestic criminals like Guevara, ICE has flagged operatives from Iran, Hamas, Al Qaeda, and ISIS hiding in U.S. communities, waiting to strike. Meanwhile, gangs like Tren de Aragua (TdA) from Venezuela extort Hispanic businesses with mafia-style “protection taxes” under threats of torture and death—on American soil. Legal Hispanic communities, polling strongly in support of President Trump, are pleading for an end to these threats. They reject the Left’s narrative that ICE enforcement “scares” immigrants, instead demanding the removal of criminal fugitives who endanger their families, children, and livelihoods.
The notion that the U.S. must coddle illegal aliens—providing food, clothing, education, and medical care while they commit heinous crimes—is an affront to every American. Guevara’s case is a wake-up call: we cannot allow our nation to be a dumping ground for narco-terrorists and violent criminals. Sanctuary policies must be dismantled, CAT protections for criminal aliens revoked, and ICE empowered to deport threats like Guevara immediately.
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