Lake County Gazette

On May 11, an illegal immigrant walked out of Stateville prison into a work release program, and the sister of the man whose life he ended while driving at more than three times the legal limit is left wondering yet again why Vicente Torres-Vasquez, a Mexican national, is still in this country.

“It’s insane,” Robi Vollkommer told the Lake County Gazette. “I asked them when he was sentenced if he would be deported when he was released from prison, and they told me it depends on who’s in office at the time.”

Torres-Vasquez had a blood alcohol level of 0.288 when in Wauconda on July 24, 2011, he drove his SUV into a motorcycle driven by Gregory Homola, 55, former Marine and father of five. Homola was killed. Two women in another car were also injured in the accident. Torres-Vasquez was sentenced to 18 years, but served 13.  

This was the fourth DUI for Torres-Vasquez, now 60, according to Vollkommer, who has followed the case closely. Records from the Lake County Circuit Court show the 2011 arrest, another aggravated DUI arrest in November 2008, which also included driving on a revoked license, and driving an uninsured motor vehicle. Another aggravated DUI in October 2007 includes driving on a suspended license.

“I wish I could say this is unbelievable but it’s not,” Don Rosenberg, president of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime (AVIAC), wrote in an email when asked to comment on the case.

In 2010, Rosenberg’s son, Drew, a law student in San Francisco, was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a car driven by an illegal with no driver’s license.

“If they had known, at least for the 2011 case, ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] may have issued a detainer,” Rosenberg said, “but Illinois doesn’t honor ICE detainers, so when it was time to release him, they never notified ICE.”

The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) did not respond to an email request asking whether they notified ICE of Torres-Vasquez’s release. IDOC did not respond to a separate request asking where he’s living and working.

The ICE public affairs office said they would look into the case but did not respond in time for this article.

Rosenberg said that even if ICE locates him, they are unlikely to deport him.

“According to [Alejandro] Mayorkas [head of Homeland Security], driving drunk, even if you kill someone, does not make you a threat to public safety." Rosenberg said. "The advocates will claim he’s paid his debt to society and he’s too old to separate from his family.”

Torres-Vasquez is due to be paroled in November 2026 but it’s unclear if he’ll be deported then, even though Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), says the law covering deportation is clear.

“No matter what Mayorkas says,” Mehlman said. “If you’re here illegally that is grounds to be deported. And he certainly should have been deported after the first DUI.”

Gregory Homola’s daughter, Alise Coulter, said she was stunned when she learned of Torres-Vasquez’s release.

“It’s scary to think he’s out there,” Coulter said. “He’s clearly a violent criminal, and I worry for anyone else that might cross his path.”

For her part, Vollkommer says she will continue to follow the case through VINE, the Victim Notification System in the Illinois Attorney General’s office, from her home in Arizona.

“I escaped Illinois,” she said.

In April, the U.S. House delivered articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to the Senate. The Democratically controlled Senate dismissed the charges.