Earlier this month, an off-duty Las Vegas Metropolitan police officer was killed by a wrong-way driver. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has confirmed that the driver who caused the fatal crash, killing 29-year-old Officer Colton Pulsipher, was in the country illegally and had been ordered to be deported.
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The incident occurred on December 12 when Officer Pulsipher was returning home and was struck by a wrong-way driver, later identified as 31-year-old Fernando Jimenez-Jimenez, on Interstate 15 near mile marker 75 in Nevada. The crash occurred in the early evening hours, and despite efforts from first responders, Officer Pulsipher was pronounced dead at the scene. He leaves behind a wife and three young children.
Las Vegas police officer Colton Pulsipher was memorialized and buried last week.
He lost his life to a wrong-way driver who’s an illegal named Fernando Jimenez-Jimenez.
If we had a secure border, Pulsipher’s three children would still have their father.
Source: @libsoftiktok pic.twitter.com/NvDR9ggzNy
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) December 23, 2024
Jimenez-Jimenez, a Mexican citizen, also died at the scene of the crash. ICE revealed that Jimenez-Jimenez had entered the United States in 2019. Following his arrival, he was placed under expedited removal, a process designed to quickly remove individuals who enter the country illegally.
However, in January 2020, Jimenez-Jimenez attempted to re-enter the US and was apprehended. Despite being ordered for removal again in December 2021, he remained in the US.
Las Vegas police officer Colton Pulsipher was memorialized and buried last week.
He lost his life to a wrong-way driver who’s an illegal named Fernando Jimenez-Jimenez.
If we had a secure border, Pulsipher’s three children would still have their father.
Source: @libsoftiktok pic.twitter.com/NvDR9ggzNy
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) December 23, 2024
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This tragic event comes just months after another fatal accident in Nevada, involving another illegal immigrant. In April, Kurt Englehart, a Senior Advisor to Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, was killed in a crash caused by 18-year-old Elmer Rueda-Linares, who was later arrested in connection with the incident. Rueda-Linares had been in the country illegally at the time of the crash. Like Officer Pulsipher, Englehart was also a father and left behind a young son.
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Additionally, the details of Officer Pulsipher’s killer come in conjunction with ICE confirming the immigration status of the man responsible for another recent tragedy.
On December 16, a woman was set on fire aboard a New York City F train. Her attacker, Sebastian Zapeta-Calil watched her burn to death. Zapeta-Calil is a 33-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala who first entered the US in 2018, was deported shortly after, and later re-entered the country again, illegally.
The deaths of Officer Pulsipher and Kurt Englehart, and the female victim on the subway join the ranks of others who lost their lives to an open border: Nursing student Laken Riley, 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray and mother of five, Rachel Morin.
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Their tragic deaths and countless other innocent victims are a direct result of the Biden administration’s disastrous immigration policies. Under this administration, dangerous individuals who should have been deported are allowed to remain in the country, wreaking havoc on public safety and leaving a wake of grief and destruction.
The American people demand accountability, and the incoming Trump administration must answer that call. There is an urgent voter mandate for sweeping action—mass deportations, strict enforcement of immigration laws, and a relentless focus on protecting American lives.
The failure to act on immigration reform has already cost too many lives.