Gavin Newsom just stood at a podium and told you ICE should do its job.
One of his own judges released the Venezuelan illegal alien killer.
But now a 68-year-old father who lived on the same quiet street for 40 years is dead – and Newsom wants to talk about federal resources.
The Judge, the Criminal, and the 24-Hour Window
Marcos Iriarte-Valdez had been in custody twice for burglaries at occupied homes.
He violated the terms of his home detention monitoring and got re-arrested on August 4.
The next day – August 5 – Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Nichelle Holmes released him on his own recognizance.
Judge Holmes was appointed to the bench by Gavin Newsom in 2024.
Twenty-four hours later, Iriarte-Valdez drove to Francis Court in Martinez wearing a tactical vest.
Security cameras caught him arriving.
Todd Stewart was building a shed when he encountered Iriarte-Valdez attempting to burglarize his home.
Stewart tried to stop him.
Iriarte-Valdez stabbed him to death in his front yard.
Todd Stewart was 68 years old, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a man who regularly contributed to his church community.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
This Was Not an Oversight – It Was a System
ICE placed an immigration detainer on Iriarte-Valdez in September 2025.
That detainer meant one thing: this man is deportable, notify us before you release him.
California's sanctuary system doesn't work that way.
No one called ICE.
Iriarte-Valdez walked out of jail, and Todd Stewart was dead within 24 hours.
Tom Homan put it plainly on Fox & Friends Thursday morning: "You don't have to hold him one minute longer than you would normally hold him – just call us before you release them."
That's it.
One phone call.
Instead, Newsom's office sent a statement blaming ICE for having "billions of dollars" and demanding they "do their job."
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2086504490153193498?s=20
ICE did their job.
They found Iriarte-Valdez.
They flagged him as an illegal alien with a criminal history.
They filed a legal detainer.
California's judges – Newsom's judges – ignored it.
The Number That Should End This Debate
ICE has identified 33,179 criminal illegal aliens sitting in California jails right now with active federal detainers.
Their documented crimes include 399 homicides, 3,313 assaults, 1,293 sexual predatory offenses, and 3,171 burglaries.
California has released 4,561 of these individuals since January 20 alone.
This is not a policy disagreement.
This is California politicians deliberately choosing criminals over citizens – and Todd Stewart paid for that choice with his life.
The pattern is not new.
In 2024, Jose Antonio Ibarra – a Venezuelan national released by a sanctuary jurisdiction – murdered 22-year-old Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus.
Between 2021 and 2024, sanctuary city jails released 22,000 illegal aliens without notifying ICE.
Every case that follows is the same story with a different victim's name.
Homan said it Thursday: "We'll talk about this today and tomorrow, then we'll move on, the next week there'll be another one in some other place in another sanctuary state."
He's right.
Newsom Owns This
ICE just set the highest single-month arrest total in the agency's 23-year history – 51,000 arrests in July alone, breaking the record set in June.
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2087527130972258374?s=20
They are doing their job at a historic pace despite California throwing up every roadblock possible.
Gavin Newsom wants you to believe Todd Stewart's death is a federal failure.
It is not.
It is the direct, predictable result of a policy Newsom personally champions – a policy that treats criminal illegal aliens as a protected class and dead Californians as acceptable collateral damage.
He was building a shed in his front yard when he was murdered.
His neighbors say it absolutely could have been prevented.
They're right.
Sources:
- Natalia Mittelstadt, "Illegal immigrant charged with murder a day after CA judge released him for burglary case," The National News Desk, August 13, 2026.
- "Martinez Resident Charged with Murder, Faces Special Circumstance Allegation," Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office, August 12, 2026.
- "Illegal immigrant charged with brutal slaying one day after California judge released him," Fox News, August 13, 2026.
- "SANCTUARY CALAMITY: DHS and ICE urgently call on Gavin Newsom and sanctuary California to not release 33,179 criminal illegal aliens," ICE.gov, February 6, 2026.
- "ICE shatters monthly arrest record with 51,000 immigration arrests," Fox News, August 2026.
- "Martinez Resident Charged with Murder, Faces Special Circumstance Allegation," Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office, August 12, 2026.
- "Sanctuary Cities Forced To Comply With Federal Immigration Rules Due to Innovative Program," Heritage Foundation, June 9, 2025.
