He was Trump’s guest for State of Union because his brother was killed by undocumented man

During his annual State of the Union address Tuesday, President Donald Trump blamed the death of a Tulare County man on California’s sanctuary state law.

The victim’s brother, Jody Jones, was there, one of nearly a dozen special guests honored by the president during the speech.

Jones was in tears as he appeared on the nationally televised address.

His brother Rocky Paul Jones was fatally shot on Dec. 17, 2018, in Tulare County. The shooter, who was later identified as Junior “Gustavo” Garcia-Ruiz, was an undocumented immigrant.

Garcia-Ruiz had a violent history and had been deported from the country twice before, law enforcement officials said.

“Tragically, there are many cities in America where radical politicians have chosen to provide sanctuary for these criminal, illegal aliens,” Trump said in the speech. “...The state of California passed an outrageous law declaring their whole state to be a sanctuary for criminal, illegal immigrants, a very terrible sanctuary with catastrophic results.”

A White House spokesperson on Tuesday wasn’t able to say how Jody Jones came to Trump’s attention or why the president thought it was important to highlight this case. Efforts to reach Jody Jones were unsuccessful.

The White House said Rocky Jones was known as “a kind and gentle soul” who left behind a daughter and four brothers “who are still grieving the loss of their loved one.”

This is not the first time Trump has blamed the state’s sanctuary law for crimes committed by undocumented people. During a Jan. 8, 2019, speech, he mentioned the fatal shooting of a police officer in Newman, which was also carried out by an undocumented man.

Tulare County case

Rocky Jones was at a gas station when he was shot multiple times at close range by Garcia-Ruiz, Trump said.

“In December 2018, California police detained (Garcia-Ruiz) with five prior arrests, including convictions for robbery and assault, but as required by California sanctuary law, local authorities released him,” Trump said

Garcia-Ruiz had been arrested on a misdemeanor charge of being under the influence of a controlled substance in December 2018. He was released soon after from the Tulare County jail, and went on to commit a string of violent crimes, authorities said, including the shooting death of Rocky Paul Jones. Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement blamed the crime spree on California’s sanctuary law.

Garcia-Ruiz died following a police chase in Porterville later that same month.

Law enforcement said Garcia-Ruiz committed at least 11 different crimes during a 24-hour “reign of terror.” ICE at the time said those crimes could have been prevented if the agency had been notified of Garcia-Ruiz’s release from jail. Boudreaux during a news conference in 2018 said the sanctuary state law prohibited him from communicating with ICE about the case.

Experts who reviewed the case for The Bee in early 2019 said Bodreaux’s agency and ICE had the ability to prevent such tragedy under Senate Bill 54 – also known as the sanctuary law and the California Values Act – if they had correctly followed the law.

Fact Check: Does California’s sanctuary law protect criminal illegal immigrants?

Kevin de Leon, former California senator and author of SB 54, during an interview in 2019 accused Boudreaux of “scapegoating” the law to deflect that the Sheriff’s Office was “dropping the ball.”

“It seems to me that the Tulare County sheriff had plenty of discretion based on the law to communicate with federal agents regarding Mr. Junior Gustavo Garcia-Ruiz. Moreover, ICE agents could have easily secured a warrant but chose not to do so,” de Leon said. “By not doing so, both the sheriff and ICE agents put the community in harm’s way.”

Saira Hussain, who was a staff attorney at Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus at the time, said, “It is clear (Boudreaux) put out incorrect information about this case and the California Values Act, in what appears to be an attempt to exploit this tragedy for political gain.”

Sheriff’s Office: Law is confusing

Ashley Ritchie, spokeswoman for the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, said in a 2019 interview that if the department had known Garcia-Ruiz’s criminal history when he was brought into the county jail late in December 2018, state law would have allowed deputies to recognize his ICE detainer.

She said when someone is brought into the county jail on a misdemeanor charge, deputies don’t have immediate access to their complete criminal history.

In a statement to The Bee in 2018, Boudreaux said the sanctuary state law created by SB 54 is an “incredibly convoluted law.”

“It’s not only confusing to the public, but to law enforcement, as well,” he said. “It hinders our ability to do our jobs and keep our communities safe.”

After Trump introduced Jody Jones to the audience on Tuesday night, he told him: “We will not rest until you have justice.”

“Senator Thom Tillis has introduced legislation to allow Americans, like Jody, to sue sanctuary cities and states when a loved one is hurt or killed as a result of these deadly practices,” Trump said. “I ask Congress to pass the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act immediately.”

De Leon on Wednesday said California is a safer state compared to others, and the overall goal of the state’s sanctuary law “is to reduce crime.” He said if people know that undocumented immigrants are afraid to report crimes to police, perpetrators are going to pray on immigrants even “more so.”

Trump, de Leon said, is dehumanizing immigrants of color, in particular Latinos, and placing blame on them for social ills in the country for political gain.

“We respect that immigrants have made California great, and are making it even better,” he said.