Former White House Border Czar Tom Homan has sharply criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom and the state's sanctuary policies following the alleged murder of a 68-year-old Bay Area man by an undocumented Venezuelan migrant. Homan asserted that the death of Todd Stewart in Martinez last week would not have occurred without political considerations influencing public safety.
"This person's dead because Governor Newsom and the State of California puts politics—hatred of President Trump—over public safety," Homan stated on Fox & Friends. He characterized the incident as one of many that have occurred over more than a decade due to California's sanctuary jurisdiction.
The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, who is an undocumented migrant from Venezuela and also holds Spanish citizenship, is accused of fatally stabbing Stewart on his front lawn. Surveillance footage captured the attack. Homan highlighted that Iriarte-Valdez had been released from home detention the day before the incident after violating its terms related to a residential burglary case. He was reportedly released by a judge appointed by Newsom.
Homan also expressed frustration with the governor's office for attributing the situation to failures by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "We did our job. We located this person in their facility. We did an investigation, found out he is an illegal in the United States, has a criminal history, he is deportable, so we issued a detainer, asking them to notify us before they release him," Homan explained. He added that California law does not prevent state authorities from cooperating with federal immigration officials by simply notifying them of an impending release.
A spokesperson for Governor Newsom's office, however, maintained that the responsibility lies with the Trump administration. "The federal government has billions of dollars and substantial resources to enforce federal law — they should do their job instead of blaming California for ICE’s enforcement failures," the spokesperson said in a statement. The governor's office also stated that nothing in California law prevents federal authorities from enforcing federal immigration laws and that Iriarte-Valdez should face justice for the alleged crime.
Iriarte-Valdez, who has reportedly been in the United States since 2007, is currently being held on $1.1 million bail. Authorities state there was no known connection between him and the victim. Surveillance video shows Iriarte-Valdez arriving in a Cadillac SUV and allegedly engaging Stewart in a physical altercation before the fatal stabbing. The suspect's prior criminal record includes arrests for DUI and hit-and-run causing property damage in October 2025, along with charges for burglary, receiving stolen property, trespassing, entering a non-commercial dwelling, loitering, and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse. He also has a conviction for violating a court-ordered protective order.