Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson was struck and killed Sunday morning as he was helping an Uber driver along Interstate 70, by a vehicle driven by a twice-deported illegal alien.

Jackson, 26, had stopped to help Jeffrey Monroe, 54, who had pulled over because of illness.

Jackson and Monroe, of Avon, Indiana, were standing near a stopped vehicle when Manuel Orrego-Savala’s pickup truck drove onto the emergency shoulder and struck and killed them both, according to The Indianapolis Star.

Orrego-Savala was arrested and taken to the Marion County jail, where he gave police a false name.

Police and media soon discovered Orrego-Savala was a Guatemalan national who had been deported before. He is being held in a local jail, and a hold has been placed on him so he can be picked up by federal agents.

“Orrego-Savala is in the United States illegally and has previously been deported on two occasions, in 2007 and again in 2009,” said Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine in a statement. “State police investigators are working with U.S. federal immigration officials and they have placed a hold on Orrego-Savala.”

The deaths of Jackson and Monroe are bound to give new attention to some Indiana Democrats’ efforts to make various cities “sanctuaries” from federal immigration laws. Last February, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett stopped short of saying he supports making the Indiana capital a “sanctuary city” that does not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Hogsett agreed in 2017 to work with activist groups and the Indianapolis City-County Council to pass a resolution that Indianapolis will not comply with any law a court has determined to be discriminatory or unconstitutional. But Hogsett declined to name the city a sanctuary from federal immigration laws.

[lz_ndn video=33504658]

Last December, the city of Gary, Indiana, was sued by conservative attorney James Bopp for declaring itself a “welcoming city” that may ignore ICE requests to detain illegal aliens in city jails.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

Indiana state law forbids sanctuary policies in cities and counties. Gary backed down after Bopp’s lawsuit.

Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.), who represents the Indianapolis suburbs, said he will fight for a federal law to punish local officials who protect illegal aliens.

“The loss of life at the hands of illegal immigrant criminals should make all Hoosiers sad and ultimately angry,” Rokita said in a statement. “We must do more to get these dangerous illegal immigrant criminals off our streets, and guarantee this never happens again by building a wall, ending sanctuary cities, and stopping illegal immigration once and for all.”

In December, Rokita introduced the SLAP ACT (Stopping Lawless Actions of Politicians). The proposed law would establish penalties for sanctuary city politicians who ignore federal immigration enforcement.

PoliZette White House writer Jim Stinson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.

(photo credit, homepage image: Edwin Jackson, CC BY 4.0, by Jeffrey Beall)