Fury erupts in NJ after ‘illegal immigrant’ kills mother, 11-year-old girl in head-on crash

☑️Raul Luna Perez was charged in a crash that killed a mother and her daughter

☑️ICE says Perez is in the U.S. illegally and has been accused of other crimes

☑️Assemblyman Paul Kanitra blames Murphy immigration policy

A New Jersey lawmaker has challenged Attorney General Matt Platkin to a debate following the revelation that the man charged in the death of a mother and her daughter was in the country illegally.

Raul Luna Perez was driving a Dodge Durango on July 26 that drifted into the opposite lane on Cross Street in Lakewood, hitting a Nissan Sentra head-on. Maria Pleitez was pronounced dead at the scene while her 11-year-old daughter Dayanara Cortes died at a hospital.

Luna-Perez, 43, of Red Bank, was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and assault by auto and is being held at the Ocean County Jail. Results of a blood test are pending, according to Ocean County Bradley Billhimer, as first responders said Luna-Perez showed signs of impairment.

Immigration officials involved in case

On Saturday, Homeland Security officials assailed Gov. Phil Murphy in a politically charged statement on its government website.

Federal officials said Luna Perez had been arrested in March and April on DUI charges and a domestic violence charge in 2023, all in Red Bank,  It has filed an arrest detainer and initiated removal proceedings.

“Governor Murphy and his sanctuary policies released this serial criminal into New Jersey communities,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Now, this innocent family is shattered by their failed leadership. President Trump and Secretary Noem will continue to do everything in their power to remove these criminal illegal aliens before they destroy more lives.”

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'A rap sheet a mile long'

On Sunday, Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, R-Ocean, challenged Plakin to explain why Luna Perez was not deported despite "a rap sheet a mile long."

"Why was this violent repeat drunk driver even here to cause this horrific crash that killed a young mother and her daughter," Kanitra asked. "What justification is there for our bullsh*t “Immigrant Trust Directive” (sanctuary state status) when the vast majority of New Jerseyans want all illegals deported? Why was his life worth more than LEGAL immigrant Maria Pleitez and her daughter Dayanara Cortes who he killed in an allegedly impaired driving incident?"

Kanitra said that Pleitez was a legal immigrant who worked at a business in his district. Pleitez's niece told the New York Post she worked at Superior Promotional Bags in Toms River.

A viewing was held Saturday at the Lakewood Funeral Home in Howell for mother and daughter. According to the Post, about 150 people, many in tears crying "why" and "how terrible" as they paid their final respects. They will be buried in Pleitez's homeland of El Salvador.

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