DHS criticizes California ‘sanctuary’ county following a mother’s alleged murder by two Honduran citizens

DHS Criticizes California County Over Detention Request Failure

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed concerns about a California county that allegedly did not comply with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention request. This involves two undocumented immigrants who are accused of murdering their 24-year-old mother earlier this month.

Frankin Inestroza-Martinez and Gerson Jose Chirinos-Mungia, both from Honduras, were taken into custody in Santa Clara County for the shooting of Kemberly Chirinos-Flores in early January.

Chirinos-Mungia, who is reportedly the father of Chirinos-Flores’ 5-year-old son, has a troubling history, including arrests for assault and false imprisonment in 2018, followed by domestic assault and making terroristic threats in 2019. Interestingly, ICE was not notified of his release on both occasions, according to DHS.

“A man lost his life, and now there is a child without a mother. These undocumented individuals should never have committed such horrific acts and should not be released into American communities,” remarked Lauren Biss, acting DHS assistant secretary, in a statement.

Inestroza-Martinez is also alleged to have an outstanding warrant from New Jersey related to a murder that took place in March 2025. He was previously deported twice, in 2013 and 2018, and is suspected of reentering the U.S. illegally at some point before committing these crimes.

DHS highlighted the California Values Act (CVA), which restricts local police from inquiring about immigration status and limits cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials.

“Instead of cooperating with ICE, Santa Clara politicians are failing to honor ICE’s requests to detain these individuals and are not alerting immigration authorities when they are released,” Biss added. She emphasized that this refusal to turn over individuals accused of serious crimes must stop.

The CVA was enacted in 2017, partly as a rebuke to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies during his first term.

The Trump administration had taken legal action against California over this law, but the case was dismissed in U.S. District Court and lost on appeal. The Supreme Court also declined to review the matter in 2020.

According to CBS News, the child was unharmed during the incident and has since been placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.

“Ms. Kemberly was at the peak of her powers. She worked two jobs and was a devoted mother to a 5-year-old son,” stated Dan Pister, Chief of the Santa Clara Department of Public Safety, during a press briefing post-arrest.