California Senator Demands Accountability After Illegal Immigrant's Early Release Blocked

Calls for accountability are echoing through California after state Sen. Tony Strickland sounded the alarm on a planned early release of Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano, an illegal immigrant convicted in a 2021 DUI manslaughter case that claimed the lives of two Orange County teenagers. The release was only halted when federal authorities, including the DOJ and ICE, jumped in.

Strickland argues that California's in-prison credit system—designed to reduce sentences for inmates participating in certain programs—nearly allowed Ortega-Anguiano back into the community after serving just three and a half years of his 10-year sentence. That’s a pretty jaw-dropping gap for a case involving such tragic loss.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s office has since promised to coordinate with ICE to ensure Ortega-Anguiano is transferred to federal custody before release. But the senator isn’t satisfied, insisting, "We need to reform these programs... the most essential role of government is public safety, and we need to bring accountability back." He called the early release plan "a slap in the face" to the victims' families.

Ortega-Anguiano, 43, was convicted after driving drunk and high at nearly 100mph on the 405 freeway, killing 19-year-olds Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin when he crashed into their car. The details are heartbreaking: both teens died as their vehicle burned. Ortega-Anguiano, it turns out, had already entered the U.S. illegally twice and had a criminal record before this fatal crash. Talk about a system with more holes than Swiss cheese.

After news broke that the victims' families were informed about an early release on Easter Sunday, DOJ officials announced they’d pursue federal charges to keep Ortega-Anguiano incarcerated longer. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, meanwhile, wouldn’t release details about inmate release dates, citing safety and security reasons, but acknowledged that "rehabilitative programming" can move parole dates up.

Strickland says he’s dismayed by what he calls a "tone-deaf" Democratic supermajority in Sacramento and suggests Governor Newsom is too focused on national politics. "He’s so interested in what’s going on in the Trump administration, he’s not doing his job as governor of California," Strickland claimed.

Still, the senator sees a silver lining, noting that more Californians are waking up to Sacramento’s leadership issues. "I do believe California will be golden again, but it takes leadership and people like myself and others in the legislature to point this out," he said. Here’s hoping that “golden” isn’t just referring to traffic gridlock at sunset.