VICTOR JOECKS: Las Vegas Strip stabbing spree shows danger of sanctuary policies

Last week, a man went on a stabbing spree on the Strip. Police believe Yoni Barrios killed two people and injured six others. It was a shocking and senseless crime. The witness accounts are harrowing, detailing how the attacker chased down some of his victims.

The randomness of attacks such as this make them especially terrorizing. It’s easy to imagine being one of the victims because you’ve probably walked on the Strip. Millions of people stroll up and down the iconic roadway each year. A deadly crime like this shakes a sense of security most people take for granted.

There are economic implications, too. If tourist don’t feel safe on the Strip, Southern Nevada’s whole economy is in trouble.

Now, police can’t stop every act of violence. Random, one-off attacks are virtually impossible to prevent, which is why many people carry concealed weapons. But there was an opportunity to stop this one before it happened.

Barrios is an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, per a Fox News report. More than that, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office charged him in 2019 with criminal domestic violence, per court documents reviewed by the U.K. Daily Mail. A judge eventually dismissed the case, saying prosecutors took too long to bring it. Further, he previously was charged with driving dangerously and without a license in 2016. He eventually paid a fine.

Think about this. The police had an illegal immigrant in hand, and they let him go. Now two people are dead.

This is the problem with sanctuary laws. Those policies prevent police from contacting immigration authorities when they have an illegal immigrant in custody. In 2017, California enacted a sanctuary state bill, partly to thwart Donald Trump’s efforts to stop illegal immigration. There are some exceptions for violent crimes. If Barrios had been convicted, he may have been deported. Also, ICE doesn’t always pick up illegal immigrants even when notified.

But it’s not hard to see how laws such as this limit opportunities to remove illegal immigrants before they commit more crimes.

“California is building a wall of justice against President Trump’s xenophobic, racist and ignorant immigration policies,” California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León said at the time.

Those policies could have prevented the killings of two people. Instead, California’s “wall of justice” protected a lawbreaker and future murderer.

This insanity isn’t limited to California.

In 2021, Democrats passed and Gov. Steve Sisolak signed Assembly Bill 376. It mandated the creation of model policies to limit “the engagement of state or local law enforcement agencies with federal immigration authorities for the purpose of immigration enforcement.” Police departments have to explain to the attorney general if they decide not to abide by that policy.

In short, Democrats want to strong-arm law enforcement into creating sanctuary cities here in Nevada.

What happened last week on the Strip shows why that’s a bad idea.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.