The New Jersey authorities knew that Mexican citizen Luis Rodrigo Perez was in the country illegally following his arrest. They knew because federal immigration officials informed them of that fact, and requested a detainer so that they could deport him.

An illegal alien arrested last December on domestic violence charges in New Jersey, ended up in Missouri early this month and murdered three people.

But New Jersey, being a sanctuary state, refused to hold Perez and let him go. About 11 months later in Missouri, he went on a killing spree.

Fox News:

Luis Rodrigo Perez, 23, a native of Mexico, is charged with fatally shooting two men and wounding two others on Nov. 1 and fatally shooting a woman the next day. He was being held on domestic violence charges at the Middlesex County Jail in New Jersey in December 2017 and was released in February, NJ.com reported. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said they placed a detainer on Perez while he was in custody, but the request was not honored nor was the agency notified when he was let go, said Corey Price, acting executive director of ICE. “Yet again, an ICE detainer was ignored and a dangerous criminal alien was released to the streets and is now charged with killing three people,” Price said. “Had ICE’s detainer request in December 2017 been honored by Middlesex County Jail, Luis Rodrigo Perez would have been placed in deportation proceedings and likely sent home to his country – and three innocent people might be alive today. "It is past time that localities realize the perils of dangerous sanctuary policies and resume their primary goal of protecting their residents," Price added.

Mr. Price misses the point. Those who support the concept of sanctuary cities know full well that some of the criminal illegals that are released from local custody because officials refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities will commit murder. They know it and don't care. They figure that the number of murders committed by illegals will be small enough that they can justify letting dangerous criminals out on the street rather than put in deportation proceedings and sent home.

After all, it's "for the greater good." Surely we can afford to have a few American citizens murdered so that we uphold the idea that all are welcome here - even if they're violent criminals who end up making children, orphans or wives, widows. To them, it's worth the price.

Somehow, I don't think the loved ones of the three Missouri residents murdered by Mr. Perez would agree.