The worst call you could ever receive as a parent is one telling you that your teenage son or daughter has been in a car crash. It’s a life-changing call that would go down as one of the worst days of your life. It could be even worse, though: What if you also found out that the driver who caused the accident was in our country illegally? This tragic circumstance is a reality for the parents of Anya Varfolomeev and Nikolay Osokin.
At just 19 years old, these two young people from Orange County, California, had their whole lives ahead of them. Varfolomeev was a bright young woman who was a dedicated ballerina and scout. Osokin was a gifted student at Pepperdine University who excelled in both music and academics. But in November 2021, their lives were senselessly stolen in a fiery crash caused by a criminal illegal immigrant who should have never been in this country in the first place.
Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano was driving drunk, high on drugs, and speeding at nearly 100 mph on the 405 freeway when he crashed into a vehicle carrying Varfolomeev and Osokin. Even worse, Ortega-Anguiano was a repeat criminal, with a track record that includes multiple felonies and convictions for driving without a license. Despite being deported, he re-entered our country illegally twice.
Now, four years later, Ortega-Anguiano is set to be released from a California state prison after serving just 3.5 years of his 10-year sentence. I’ve spoken to Anya’s father, and he is outraged. So am I.
This story hits especially close to home because I served as mayor and city councilman of Los Alamitos for over a decade, and this tragic incident happened in our community. It also represents so much that is wrong with our broken immigration system. As deputy secretary of homeland security, I work relentlessly under the leadership of President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Kristi Noem to carry out their priorities to protect our communities from brutal criminals who should not be loose on American streets.
Under the Trump administration, DHS is enforcing our nation’s immigration laws and seeking to punish criminals to the fullest extent of the law, and this has my direct attention. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer for Ortega-Anguiano with the California Department of Corrections. If state authorities do not honor the ICE detainer, federal agents will take custody of Ortega-Anguiano and deport him immediately upon release. The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California has also filed a felony immigration charge against Ortega-Anguiano, which could put him behind bars for an additional 20 years.
Under the secretary’s leadership, the department is also giving support to victims by reopening ICE’s Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement office. VOICE was first launched in 2017 by the Trump administration as a dedicated resource for those who have been victimized by crime that has a nexus to immigration. The Biden administration shuttered the office, leaving victims and their families without access to key resources and support services, but we will not allow their stories to be silenced any longer.
Every day, the Trump administration is working to prevent these tragedies from happening in another town, to another family. We owe it to Anya, Nikolay, and every family like theirs to never stop fighting for justice and safety. That starts with removing the worst of the worst — and making sure they never return.
Not in my town. Not in any American town.
Troy Edgar is the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.
