ICE Cracks Down On Repeat Drunk-Driving Illegal Alien In California
Story by Maria Hernandez • 12h
Twice-Convicted Mexican National Faces Deportation After Light Sentences for DUIs
Federal immigration authorities arrested Jose De Santiago-Martinez, a Mexican national illegally residing in California for over two decades, on August 17, 2025, for his repeated drunk driving offenses. The arrest, carried out by ICE’s San Francisco office, comes amid a troubling wave of fatal crashes involving undocumented immigrants driving under the influence, spotlighting what critics call lenient state penalties and lax enforcement.
De Santiago-Martinez, who first entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2004, has a history of flouting immigration and traffic laws. Court records show he was granted voluntary returns to Mexico twice that year but reentered the country illegally at least once more.
In February 2024, a judge convicted him of driving on a suspended license.
Just over a month later, Sacramento County charged him with misdemeanor drunk driving, resulting in a mere four-day jail sentence.
On May 19, 2025, Placer County convicted him of a second DUI, handing down a 40-day sentence. Under California law, first, second, and third DUIs within a decade are typically treated as misdemeanors, a policy critics argue fails to deter repeat offenders.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/ice-cracks-down-on-repeat-drunk-driving-illegal-alien-in-california/ar-AA1L5Y2t?ocid=widgetonlockscreen&cvid=a19e5b9b97184bac8d0a7ae29bd196e4&ei=119
