The aftermath of the July 26 fatal crash in Lakewood. (Photo by The Lakewood Scoop. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
The case of a Red Bank man charged in a fatal DWI crash that killed a mother and daughter in Lakewood is drawing national attention as the Trump Administration holds the tragedy up as the result of lax Democratic immigration policies.
The US Department of Homeland Security issued a press release Saturday calling Raul Luna Perez a “criminal illegal alien” who avoided deportation after two previous arrests for DWI and a third for domestic violence because of Gov. Phil Murphy’s so-called “sanctuary” immigration policies.
Luna-Perez, who lives in Red Bank, has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and assault by auto after driving his Dodge Durango crossed the center line and crashed head on into another car, killing Maria Pleitez, 42, (pictured below at center) and and her eleven-year-old daughter, Dayanara, on July 26.
The pair, along with another 11-year-old friend, were on their way to Wawa for milkshakes, according to a report in the NY Post.
Pleitez immigrated from El Salvador 23 years ago and her daughter was born in the US, Pleitez’s neice told the paper.
Citing Luna-Perez’s three previous arrests by Red Bank Police, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin lashed out at New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy for policies she says allowed him to remain on the streets and avoid deportation to his native Mexico before the crash last month.
“Governor Murphy and his sanctuary policies released this serial criminal into New Jersey communities,” McLaughlin said in the press release. “Now, this innocent family is shattered by their failed leadership. President Trump and Secretary Noem will continue to do everything in their power to remove these criminal illegal aliens before they destroy more lives.”
The DHS press release continues:
“This was not Raul Luna Perez’s first run in with the law. His rap sheet includes:
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On June 25, 2023, the Red Bank Police Department arrested Raul Luna Perez for simple domestic violence.
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On March 20, 2025, the Red Bank Police Department arrested Raul Luna Perez for a DUI.
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On April 17, 2025, the Red Bank Police Department arrested Raul Luna Perez for a DUI.
Raul Luna-Perez (Photo: Ocean County Sherriff’s )Office inmate locator.
On July 28, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an arrest detainer and initiated removal proceedings while Luna Perez remains in custody on the homicide charge, according to the press release.
In an email to the Asbury Park Press, Mahen Gunaratna, spokesman for Murphy, said, “The governor believes that Mr. Luna-Perez, who has been arrested multiple times for DUI and domestic violence, should not have been allowed behind the wheel and should have already been deported due to his previous dangerous criminal activity.”
For a decade leading up to 2019, Monmouth County participated in the federal 287(g) program, which enlisted specially trained sheriff’s officers to identify jail inmates with immigration violations, or those whose crimes, if convicted, could make them eligible for deportation.
Those 287(g) programs were banned in New Jersey by an order of the state Attorney General’s Office. The changes were an update to the Immigrant Trust Directive isssued a year earlier, which limits the types of voluntary assistance that New Jersey’s law enforcement officers may provide to federal immigration authorities.
Then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said 287(g) agreements “blur the distinction between federal civil immigration enforcement and local law enforcement,” which “creates confusion regarding the distinct roles of local law enforcement and federal agents” and “makes it less likely that immigrant victims and witnesses will cooperate with local police in criminal investigations.”
But Monmouth County Sheriff Sean Golden called the end of the program “a disappointing day for law enforcement in the state of New Jersey” and predicted it “will make our communities less safe, since it places people in those communities at risk for increased violence.”
The so-called “encarceration model” employed by Monmouth County’s 287(g) had long been seen as a middle ground between enlisting local police forces to enforce immigration laws (a policy favored by hard-line immigration restrictionists) and forbidding any state or local agencies from enforcing federal immigration laws.
It remains unclear whether Luna-Perez’s previous run-ins resulted in him being sent to the county lockup where he might have been flagged by the then-cancelled program.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
