I have no objection to Paul Pelosi’s attacker, David DePape, being sentenced to 30 years in prison. Throw the book at the bastard.

But I notice a strange detail in the coverage in the New York Times:

Judge Corley said in court that she had taken into account Mr. DePape’s lack of a previous criminal record and his vulnerability to conspiracy theories.

Lack of a previous criminal record? He was in the country illegally! His tourist visa expired in 2008! He had been residing in the country illegally for fourteen years when he attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband!

The New York Times described DePape as “a Canadian citizen who moved to San Francisco in his 20s,” and the Associated Press labeled him “a Canadian who moved to the U.S. more than 20 years ago.” Those descriptions are really misleading. DePape’s illegal immigrant status is not mentioned in the coverage from CNN, CBS, the BBC, The Guardian, and many other news reports on the verdict.

The Times characterized Pelosi’s attacker as almost an inevitable consequence of the fierce criticism of his wife:

Mr. DePape reflects the underbelly of American politics: a man driven by online conspiracy theories who seemed to embrace the rhetoric of many right-wing figures, who have used dehumanizing language for years to describe Ms. Pelosi and call her an enemy of the United States.

Yes, online conspiracy theories are bad, and no one should break into any lawmaker’s house, seeking to break their kneecaps, and violently assault a lawmaker’s spouse.

But there are some other lessons to be taken from DePape’s crime. One is that some of the people who either enter the country illegally, or those who enter legally and then stay beyond the legal limit, and who then move to sanctuary cities, are bad and dangerous people who should be deported. As I wrote back in 2022:

You see, Richmond, Calif., is not merely a “sanctuary city” that bars local police from reporting the immigration status of individuals and ignores requests by ICE to detain undocumented immigrants whom local agents apprehend for misdemeanor crimes or investigations. Back in 2018, the city council went even further, expanding its sanctuary protections by blocking contracts with companies that provide data or “extreme vetting services” to federal immigration authorities — despite objections from the city’s mayor and city police.

… if there were better enforcement of immigration laws, the attacker might have been deported back to Canada years ago. If the city and state had quicker and more widespread intervention for those with severe mental-health issues, he might have been in treatment, on medication, or locked up for his own safety and that of others. If U.S. Capitol Police had been watching the surveillance monitors, local police might have been on-scene quicker. The assault on Paul Pelosi is the story of a dangerous, disturbed man and the government agencies that failed in their responsibility to protect the public from him.