Two Illegal Immigrants Face Capital Murder Charges in Dallas Shooting That Killed Unborn Child

Two illegal immigrants from Central America face capital murder charges in Dallas after a drive-by shooting that killed the unborn child of a 17-year-old mother. Federal officials say the case underscores the lethal consequences of lax immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed ICE charged Keyner Ariel Calero Jiron, 20, of Nicaragua, and Yeremy Alexander Zapata Aleman, 17, of Honduras, with capital murder and multiple counts of felony aggravated assault following the May 3 incident in the Pleasant Grove neighborhood.

Calero-Jiron illegally entered the United States in 2022 as a minor under the Biden administration and was released, according to DHS records. He now faces nine charges including capital murder, five counts of felony aggravated assault with a firearm, evading arrest, possession of cocaine, and unlawful carrying of a weapon. Zapata Aleman entered illegally from Honduras and faces seven charges. Both could face the death penalty or life without parole if convicted on capital murder charges.

The shooting erupted from a 7-Eleven altercation on Buckner Boulevard around 12:40 a.m. on May 3. Surveillance footage shows someone in a dark hoodie exiting the suspects' silver 2021 Chevrolet Equinox and appearing to point a gun at another vehicle. The suspects followed the victims' car northbound and fired into it.

A 17-year-old pregnant woman named Natalie Rossainz took bullets to both thighs while 22 weeks along. A round passed through her pelvis and struck her unborn child. Two other people in the vehicle were also struck. A separate driver traveling southbound was hit by gunfire but escaped injury. Rossainz underwent an emergency C-section at Baylor Hospital, where the baby did not survive. She held her child before he died.

"Why in the world do they have guns?" Cynthia Trevino, the victim's grandmother, told FOX 4 News on May 11. "It was a blessing for us — and they took it away from us. They're going to live with that for the rest of their life."

Police spotted the suspects' vehicle six hours after the shooting and initiated a 3.9-mile chase that ended in a crash. Officers found a handgun in Calero-Jiron's pant leg, cocaine in his pocket, and an MDMA pill in the front passenger door area where Zapata Aleman sat.

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis issued a blistering statement on May 14, calling the suspects "monsters" and linking the tragedy directly to immigration policy failures. "These monsters shot multiple people and killed an unborn baby," Bis said. "This is an unspeakable crime, and these criminal illegal aliens should never have been in our country in the first place."

ICE lodged a detainer requesting Dallas not release the suspects, noting that the city cooperates with federal immigration authorities. That cooperation came only after Texas Governor Greg Abbott forced Dallas, Houston, and Austin to revise their ICE cooperation policies in late April under threat of losing tens of millions in state grants and World Cup security funding.

Dallas updated General Order 315.04 to allow officers to ask about immigration status during lawful detentions and share information with federal authorities. "As Mayor of Dallas, public safety is my highest priority, and I agree with Governor Abbott that federal immigration enforcement plays a role in keeping our city safe," Mayor Eric Johnson told the Texas Tribune on April 23.

The Dallas case fits a broader pattern of violent crimes by undocumented immigrants across the country. National Border Patrol Council Vice President Art Del Cueto warned in an April 8 Fox News interview that similar tragedies would continue. "It will not be the last — it'll be more," Del Cueto said. "We do not know what their intentions were… and then you have people in this country that are perfectly comfortable with these individuals roaming around the streets."

April saw at least eight separate cases involving undocumented immigrants accused of murder or serious violent crimes in South Carolina, Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida, Virginia, and Chicago. In Missouri, 18-year-old Yefry Archaga, a Honduran national, stands accused of killing 15-year-old Miles Young and is held on a federal immigration detainer.

Federal lawmakers have responded with stricter enforcement measures. Senate Republicans used budget reconciliation to pass a $70 billion funding plan for ICE and Border Patrol on April 23, voting 50-48 against Democratic opposition. The funding comes as DHS remains partially shut down since mid-February over Democratic demands for ICE reforms following fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents in Minneapolis.

Border Patrol apprehensions through February 2026 fell to their lowest levels since 1966, averaging 6,897 per month in the first five months of the fiscal year, according to a WOLA border update. Yet ICE interior arrests averaged over 1,100 per day in early 2026 — roughly four times the Biden administration's final-year pace.

Public opinion reflects growing concern about border security. A January Pew Research survey found 62 percent of Americans favor maintaining a large military presence at the U.S.-Mexico border. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 79 percent support requiring social media account reviews for immigration applicants.

Dallas Police Chief Daniel C. Comeaux emphasized that officers will follow the updated policy while maintaining their public safety mission. "Our officers will follow the law, and our updated policy will affirm that we will cooperate with federal authorities when required," Comeaux told DPD Beat on April 23.

For the victim's family, no policy change can undo their loss. "I don't care what they do to them," Trevino said. "If they give them the death penalty, it's not going to bring the baby back. It doesn't matter what — my baby's not going to come back."