(NewsNation) — A migrant man is facing charges of aggravated murder following the discovery of a body in an alley in Hamilton, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati.
Fermin Garcia-Gutierrez, 46, has entered the U.S. illegally multiple times from Mexico and encountered the U.S. legal system several times, according to Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones.
Garcia-Gutierrez, who has been deported from the U.S. seven times, has also been jailed 11 times, Jones said, with his first arrest dating back to 2001. Police allege Garcia-Gutierrez used at least seven different names and three different birth dates.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, homicides or manslaughters committed by people in the U.S. illegally are not increasing. In fact, the numbers have declined — in 2022, 62 such incidents were recorded, compared to 29 in 2023.
Still, Jones says illegal immigration poses a grave threat to American citizens.
“I can tell you this, that person would be alive today and if you don’t think that it’s affecting you in Butler County, Ohio, we’re all border states; we’re all border counties. It’s here and we could go on and on,” Jones said during a news conference Wednesday.
“We have an illegal that’s here and he’s been deported eight times in our county, and he’s committed 20 crimes. He’s had seven different names, and now he’s charged with murder, aggravated murder, and who knows who else he’s killed along the way or killed in Mexico,” he added.
There is debate over the responsibility of preventing people like Garcia-Gutierrez from entering the U.S., which involves cooperation between local law enforcement and the U.S. judicial system.
“My question to the sheriff would be, what happened the second, third or fourth time that you arrested him? Why is he continuously in jail, and you let him go? Was this the judge? Did you not call ICE for deportation?” said Nelson Balido, chairman of the Border Commerce and Security Council.
“If they know you have been arrested … by the second or third time, you’re doing some serious jail time because the Border Patrol is gonna put you there,” he added.
The Hamilton Police Department and Butler County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Garcia-Gutierrez is currently in the Butler County Jail on an ICE detainer, weapons charges, drug possession and obstruction, Jones said. He’s set to appear in court Wednesday.