President Trump Weighs in on NFL Players Brutal Death in Car Accident With Illegal
President Donald Trump called the death of Indianapolis Colt linebacker Edwin Jackson at the hands of an illegal immigrant “preventable” and “disgraceful.”
Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, of Guatemala is being held in custody for the deaths of Jackson, 26, and his Uber driver Jeffrey Monroe, 54.
The two men were hit and killed while standing outside of their vehicle on Interstate 70 in Indiana at approximately 4 a.m. on Sunday morning, Fox News reported.
Indiana State Police said the driver of an F-150 struck involved in the incident was Orrego-Savala.
The illegal immigrant’s blood alcohol level was 0.239 at the time of the crash — three times the legal limit, according to The Indianapolis Star.
Orrego-Savala was deported twice, once in 2007 and once in 2009 following arrests in San Francisco. The Guatemalan was convicted of driving under the influence in 2005 Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Nicole Alberico told The Indianapolis Star.
Trump tweeted about Jackson’s death on Tuesday writing, “So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!”
Shortly thereafter, he followed that tweet with another offering condolences to Jackson’s family.
Vice President Mike Pence, the former governor of Indiana, also lamented the “senseless and avoidable tragedy” of the NFL star’s death.
Jackson was in his second year with the Colts, and the team released a statement responding to the linebacker’s untimely passing.
“Edwin was loved by all in the Colts organization,” the statement read. “We admired his outgoing personality, competitive spirit and hard-working mentality. He was well-respected among all with whom he crossed paths, and he will be greatly missed in our locker room and throughout our entire organization.”
Jackson’s death comes as lawmakers on Capitol Hill seek to come up with a compromise that addresses Trump’s and Republicans’ calls for increased border security as part of any deal that grants permanent legal status to the recipients of the Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals program.
Both as a candidate and president, Trump often highlighted the tragic deaths caused by criminal illegal aliens, including the killing of 32-year-old Kate Steinle in 2015.
Trump called the November 2017 verdict exonerating the shooter — criminal illegal immigrant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate — “disgraceful.”
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