ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Sam Vigil has filed a lawsuit against the city of Albuquerque, the city's mayor and police department, over the city's 'sanctuary' policy regarding illegal aliens. His wife, Jacqueline, was murdered during an attempted robbery on November 19, 2019.
She was actually sitting in her car in her own driveway, when she was shot to death.
The man charged with her murder is Luis Talamantes-Romero, an illegal alien with a long criminal history.
In fact, Talamantes-Romero had returned to the country illegally, after having been deported, when he was named as a suspect in a robbery, but the Albuquerque Police Department failed to notify federal immigration authorities of his presence in the city.
Sam Vigil's attorney Robert Gorence told KOB4:
That alone should have triggered a phone call, or an email to federal law enforcement even if APD needed more time to perfect their investigation all they had to do was ‘he’s back’ that’s all it would have took...It never happened because of a city policy.
“I feel like my wife today could be alive if they would have acted on so much evidence they had against this individual and turned him in to immigration. I think my wife would be talking to me today,” said Mr. Vigil.
The city officially adopted a 'sanctuary' policy, which protects illegal aliens from deportation in 2018.
Since 2008, Talamantes-Romero has been deported three times, charged with domestic violence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and shooting from a moving vehicle. He is currently in federal custody, awaiting sentencing for illegal re-entry.
