Chicago City Wire

The Illinois Department of Corrections has no intention of notifying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when it discharges Vicente Torres-Vasquez, an illegal alien responsible for the 2011 DUI death of a Wauconda man, from the work-release program in which he's currently enrolled in 2028.

A spokesperson for IDOC told Chicago City Wire that the Department “complies with the Illinois Trust Act and its prohibitions on most communications with federal immigration authorities."

The Trust Act, signed in 2017 by former Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, made Illinois a sanctuary state, one that “generally prohibits local law enforcement in Illinois from participating in immigration enforcement,” according to the Illinois Attorney General’s website.

For a story on Torres-Vasquez published in May, an ICE public affairs spokesperson told Chicago City Wire that it would investigate his case. The agency did not respond to a recent inquiry that asked whether it had.

Torres-Vasquez had a blood alcohol level of 0.288 when on July 24, 2011, he drove his SUV into a motorcycle driven by Gregory Homola, 55, a former Marine and father of five who was killed. Two women in another car were also injured in the accident. 

Torres-Vasquez was sentenced to 18 years and has served 13, with the remaining five to be served through the work-release program, which allows inmates to report to work from prison and return to custody after their shifts. 

This was the fourth DUI for Torres-Vasquez, 60. Records from the Lake County Circuit Court show the 2011 arrest, another aggravated DUI arrest in November 2008, which also included driving on a revoked license, and driving an uninsured motor vehicle. Another aggravated DUI in October 2007 includes driving on a suspended license.

“If he was an immigrant, he should have been deported at the very least after the second DUI,” Don Rosenberg, President of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime (AVIAC) told City Wire in an email. “I would want him after the first. If he was here illegally, he definitely should have been deported after the first or, of course, not been here to begin with.”

“The fact that he killed someone should make it a no-brainer,” he added, “and unfortunately, those with no brains are making these decisions.”

In 2010, Rosenberg’s son, Drew, a law student in San Francisco, was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a car driven by an illegal alien with no driver’s license.

In February, the U.S. House cleared legislation that would require immediate deportation of any illegal caught driving under the influence. One hundred and fifty Democrats voted against the bill.

“To the Democrats drunk driving is not a public safety threat,” Rosenberg said.

“After all, he only killed one person,” he added referring to the Torres-Vasquez case. "They (Mayorkas) wouldn’t deport the guy who killed Drew because he had ‘only committed one crime of moral turpitude.’”

Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, was impeached by the Republican controlled House in February. In April, the Democrat controlled Senate rejected two impeachment articles.

"Why would anyone keep illegals, and even more so, criminal illegals, here?," Gregory Homola's sister, Robi Vollkommer, told City Wire. "I think about all the law abiding green card holders who came here legally. They pay taxes and contribute to society. They don’t get to vote in local or federal elections though and have no say about laws or government. It’s so messed up and unfortunately people will walk around with blinders on and it will never change."