By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-07-29 19:51:29 | Updated at 2026-08-03 01:52:07
4 days ago
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is urging Florida to hold an illegal Venezuelan migrant charged in a deadly crash that killed a grandmother, according to documents obtained by the Daily Caller.
Venezuelan national Carlos Suarez Contreras allegedly backed his vehicle into Deborah Murphy, an 82-year-old grandmother, on May 17 as she was walking back to her car in a crosswalk outside a Publix in Panama City Beach, Florida.
After striking Murphy, Suarez Contreras allegedly continued reversing, according to authorities. Suarez Contreras and his front-seat passenger, Luis Sanabria Perez, were both determined to be in the country illegally. (RELATED: Fifth Circuit Rules Illegal Aliens Do Not Have Constitutional Right To Roam Free In US)
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Suarez Contreras on May 17, and ICE lodged a detainer against him the following day.
Suarez Contreras was previously encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) near Blythe, California, in November 2021 before being released into the U.S. under the Biden administration
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis, in a statement to the Caller, noted that the fatal crash “was 100% preventable.”
“This senseless tragedy was 100% preventable because these illegal aliens should have NEVER been in the country. One death at the hands of an illegal alien is one too many,” Bis wrote. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Chip Roy Wants To Revisit Legal Immigration Levels After ‘Egregious’ Birthright Citizenship Ruling)
DEMANDING JUSTICE: A Florida family is speaking out after 82-year-old grandmother and retired teacher Debra Murphy was fatally struck in a grocery store parking lot. @Danamariemctv reports on the criminal charges and ICE holds involved in the case. pic.twitter.com/cCQUD8EpUt
— Special Report (@SpecialReport) July 28, 2026Bis reiterated the request by ICE for Florida officials to transfer the driver into federal custody if he is released.
“Thanks to our law enforcement partners at the federal and local levels, the illegal alien responsible for this tragic death will now face justice for his crimes. ICE has lodged a detainer asking officials in Florida to turn this illegal alien over to ICE custody so that he can be removed from our country. Meanwhile, the illegal alien passenger, who was granted TPS by the Biden Administration, has since been removed from the country.”(RELATED: No More ‘Dependency’ — DHS To Deny Green Cards To Immigrants On Welfare)
The passenger in the vehicle, Luis Sanabria Perez, also a Venezuelan national, was arrested on May 17 and booked into ICE custody the following day, May 18.
SAY HER NAME: Deborah Murphy
82-year-old grandmother killed in Florida after she was run over by Carlos Suarez-Contreras, an ILLEGAL ALIEN.
Democrats are protesting to protect him.
Let that sink in. pic.twitter.com/pQSgYiDNZf
Sanabria Perez was admitted to the United States on Sept. 4, 2019, as a temporary visitor with authorization to remain until March 3, 2020. He remained in the country after his authorized stay expired and applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in August 2021, according to the documents.
The migrants application was approved in June 2022 under the Biden administration.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) terminated his TPS on Nov. 20, 2025, and he was removed from the U.S. on June 8, 2026.
