Parents of man killed by drunk driver in Massachusetts support immigration crackdown
Speaking from their backyard in Milford, Massachusetts, Maureen and Mike Maloney say their 23-year-old son Matthew was struck and killed by an undocumented immigrant who was driving drunk. "It opened my eyes to the problem of immigration, really specifically illegal immigration," Mike Maloney said.
Back in 2011, the family says Matthew Denice was on his way home from helping a friend, when the motorcycle he was riding was hit by Nicolas Guaman of Milford. Police say Guaman was drunk and failed to stop and plowed into Matthew in his ford pickup, dragging him for a quarter mile. Guaman who was an undocumented immigrant, faced eight different charges including vehicular homicide and driving without a license.
"Matthew would still be alive"
"If we had a secure border and immigration laws enforced, Matthew would still be alive and thousands of others of innocent victims would still be alive," Maloney said.
Today, the Maloneys are speaking on behalf of their son and in support of the recent ICE raids taking place across the country.
"ICE is out there looking for dangerous criminals. They have to go out into the community and with that there is the risk of collateral damage of picking up otherwise nonviolent people who are in the county unlawfully," Maureen Maloney said.
The Maloneys still live in Milford, the same town that has gained national attention when 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes da Silva was detained two weeks ago after his visa expired. ICE said he was not the intended target; his father was for traffic violations. Marcelo was released a few days later and reunited with his family.
"The bottom line is, no matter how traumatic that was for him, he got to go home and be reunited with his parents. Even if they get deported, they will do so as a family. I would do anything to have more time with my son Matthew. Matthew will never be back. I go to the cemetery, that's how I visit my son," Maureen Maloney said.
Support for Trump, immigration crackdown
As for the violent protest taking place in Los Angeles and in other parts of the country, the Maloneys say they support President Trump and his decision to crack down hard on undocumented immigrants.
"It just comes down to they've broken the law and for whatever 20 years no one has done anything about it. Now somebody is doing something about it. And when they pick up criminals, I think about lives that are saved," Mike Maloney said.
In the case of their son, Guaman has since been deported back to Ecuador. They wish ICE raids were happening back then as they are today. "If we had enforcement of our immigration laws 14 years ago prior to Matthew's death, the man who killed him wouldn't have been in the country because he was charged with burglary and assault in 2008, so if he had been removed my Matthew would've been alive," Maureen Maloney said.
