The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on May 1 that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer requesting Gov. Gavin Newsom and California sanctuary officials not release Wilfredo Jose Tortolero-Arriechi, a Venezuelan national charged with homicide in the fatal stabbing of a social worker at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
According to a press release from the Department of Homeland Security, ICE lodged a detainer on Dec. 11, 2025, requesting California sanctuary officials not release Wilfredo Jose Tortolero-Arriechi from San Francisco County Jail. The Venezuelan national allegedly stabbed 51-year-old social worker Alberto Rangel at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Dec. 4, 2025. Rangel died from his injuries two days later. Tortolero-Arriechi had been encountered by U.S. Border Patrol in 2023 and released into the country by the prior administration.
Tortolero-Arriechi reportedly threatened his doctor and hospital staff in the weeks leading up to the December 2025 attack. He now faces charges of homicide and use of a deadly weapon in San Francisco County, according to ABC News. DHS said California’s sanctuary policies have limited cooperation with ICE detainers for thousands of criminal illegal aliens currently held in state and local custody.
According to DHS, ICE Director Todd Lyons sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta in February 2026, urging officials to honor detainers for more than 33,000 criminal illegal aliens in California custody. The state’s policies restrict local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities on civil detainers. DHS argues that those policies have resulted in the release of individuals with criminal charges back into California communities.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security serves as the federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement and border security. Its component, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, carries out interior enforcement operations, including the issuance of detainers to local jurisdictions holding criminal illegal aliens, according to the department.
