US News
Newsom agrees to help feds after outrage exploded over his own prison system releasing killer illegal immigrant after only 3 years

By Emily Crane
Published April 24, 2025, 7:39 a.m. ET
252 Comments
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has agreed to help the Trump administration pursue federal charges against an illegal immigrant being freed early after killing a young couple in a horrific drunk driving crash.
Newsom’s office promised the state would comply with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer to ensure the killer, Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano, does not end up back on US streets after his controversial early release.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has agreed to help the Trump administration pursue federal charges against Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano, an illegal migrant who killed two teens while driving drunk. AFP via Getty Images

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Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano, 43, was accused of driving drunk at nearly 100 mph.foxnews“ After being deported in 2013, this individual unlawfully re-entered the US & committed heinous crimes,” the governor’s office said in an X post.

“[California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] will again coordinate with ICE — as they have w/ 10,000+ inmates — to transfer him before release.”

It comes after news of the Mexican migrant’s potential early release sparked widespread outrage and fueled fears that California’s sanctuary policies could result in the perp ending up back on the streets.
Ortega-Anguiano, 43, was convicted of vehicular manslaughter over the fiery 2021 wreck that left 19-year-old Anya Varfolomeev and her boyfriend, Nicholay Osokin, dead.

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Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin, both 19, were killed in the November 2021 crash.Courtesy Varfolomeev and Osokin FamiliesThe victims’ families were alerted over the weekend that he would be eligible for release come July after serving just 3.5 years of his decade-long sentence.
Bilal Essayli, the US attorney for the Central District of California, quickly vowed to step in to keep the convicted migrant locked up.

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Ortega-Anguiano is eligible to be released in just three months.Fox News2What do you think? Post a comment.

“My office has filed a felony immigration charge against this defendant,” Essayli posted on X.
“He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted for 8 USC 1326,” he added, referring to the federal statute charging deported illegal migrants who re-enter the US.
“If the State of California will not seek the full measure of justice against this individual, the Justice Department will.”

Gov. Newsom to help Trump pursue federal charges against illegal migrant who killed teens while driving drunk