By Jonathan Ellett
FAIR
Sebastian Zapeta, an illegal alien from Guatemala, is accused of fatally setting Debrina Kawam on fire while she was seated on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York. Zapeta has been indicted by a grand jury and has been charged with one count of first degree murder, three counts of second degree murder, and one count of arson. Zapeta will be arraigned on January 7.
The heinous act, which occurred the Sunday before Christmas, was captured on surveillance cameras from both inside and outside of the subway car. The footage shows Zapeta calmly approaching Kawam, where he then positions himself directly across from her. Unprovoked, he proceeds to light her on fire. Kawam was engulfed by the ensuing flames “in a matter of seconds,” according to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The camera footage further showed Zapeta waiving his shirt around Kawam, in an apparent effort to further stoke the flames. He then proceeded to sit on a nearby bench located just outside of the train car and watched the first responders attempt to rescue her.
Despite the efforts to save her, Kawam was pronounced dead at the scene. Zapeta was later apprehended after he was located riding on the same subway line. Upon being searched, a lighter was found on him.
This is the second time Zapeta has been caught for illegally entering the United States. The U.S. Border Patrol previously apprehended Zapeta in June 2018 after he illegally crossed the southern border into Arizona. He was issued an expedited removal order following his apprehension and was deported back to Guatemala six days later. Following his removal, Zapeta again illegally re-entered the country on an unknown date and location.
This depraved incident understandably sparked outrage. The New York Post editorial board wrote that it is “beyond time to end sanctuary-city policies in New York. [Zapeta] re-entered the country and, at some point thereafter, headed for New York, where local policies guarantee shelter, food, and other taxpayer-funded aid to migrants and forbid cops from working with ICE to deport even the ones who commit new crimes.” In fact, in April 2023, Zapeta was staying in a Days Inn hotel in New York City, the first of four facilities that had been converted into a tax-payer funded migrant shelter. Zapeta was living at a different taxpayer-funded shelter, the Samaritan Village Forbell men’s shelter, when he was arrested in December 2024.
Although tragedies like the one here are easily avoidable through the enforcement of federal immigration law and cooperation with federal authorities, New York City continues to maintain its sanctuary policies.
New York City first became a sanctuary city in 1989 when then-Mayor Ed Koch signed an executive order barring city officials from sharing information with immigration officials. That executive order was reissued by then-Mayors David Dinkins and Rudy Guiliani. In 2011, the City Council passed a law to prohibit law enforcement officials from honoring detainers unless the individual was convicted of a crime, a known gang member, or on the terrorist watch list. City lawmakers further expanded New York City’s sanctuary law in 2014 to prohibit detaining individuals without a judicial warrants unless the individual has been convicted of a violent or serious crime and has illegally re-entered the country after being previously removed or is an individual on the terrorist watchlist. In 2017, the sanctuary law was broadened to prohibit the use of city staff and resources for immigration enforcement.
These sanctuary laws are endangering New Yorkers by shielding nearly 60,000 criminal illegal aliens. According to an ICE data, out of the 759,218 illegal aliens living in New York City 58,626, or nearly eight percent, have been charged with or convicted of a crime. If the sanctuary policies of New York City don’t change, Kenneth Genalo, the head of ICE in New York City, said, “it would take a lifetime to clear the city” of the criminal aliens.
With the flood of illegal aliens that have entered the city over the past several years, Mayor Eric Adams is facing increased pressure from frustrated residents to end the sanctuary policies. For the past several months, Mayor Adams has sent mixed messages about his intentions. While he is the “first big city mayor” to meet with incoming border czar Tom Homan and say he will work with the administration to deport criminal aliens, he still plans to maintain the city’s sanctuary policy and oppose deportations for “hardworking undocumented New Yorkers.”
