Conservative author and lawyer Ben Shapiro says a San Francisco jury’s decision to acquit an illegal immigrant of murder for the 2015 death of Kate Steinle encapsulates why voters put President Trump in the White House.

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was deported five times before the July 1, 2015, shooting death of Ms. Steinle on a San Francisco pier. Mr. Shapiro, a Harvard Law School graduate, told Fox News after Thursday verdict that it is inexplicable how Mr. Zarate escaped involuntary manslaughter charges after firing the weapon that killed Ms. Steinle.

“He was deported over and over and over again,” the Daily Wire editor in chief told Fox. “He was set free by sanctuary cities that refused to coordinate with federal law enforcement. He was out. He picked up a gun. He stole a gun, presumably, and then he shot Kate Steinle. Whether he did it, whether he meant to shoot her or whether he meant to discharge the firearm is of no consequence. When you pick up that gun, and you know that it has the possibility of firing, and it fires, then this is, at the very best, involuntary manslaughter.”

Zarate eluded murder, manslaughter and assault charges. He was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm and will ultimately be deported, again, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“The basic notion that an illegal immigrant can commit crimes in this country and then reenter the country at will is why President Trump won,” Mr. Shapiro added. “It’s why President Trump ought to push for the construction of that barrier and ought to make sure the American people are safe from predators like this one.”

Zarate faces a prison sentence of 16 months to three years for being a felon in possession of a firearm.