Trump vows immigration crackdowns after Texas motel manager beheaded

President Donald Trump is calling for tougher immigration crackdowns in the wake of Chandra Nagamallaiah’s grisly beheading in Dallas on Sept. 10. Nagamallaiah, a motel manager, was killed by an employee while his wife and son looked on, officials said.

Cuban national Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, reportedly killed 50-year-old Nagamallaiah with a machete before kicking the victim’s head around "like a soccer ball." The suspect was residing in the United States illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Trump said the "time for being soft" on illegal immigration is over, referencing the case in a Sept. 14 post on Truth Social.

"I am aware of the terrible reports regarding the murder of Chandra Nagamallaiah, a well respected person in Dallas, Texas, who was brutally beheaded, in front of his wife and son, by an ILLEGAL ALIEN from Cuba who should have never been in our Country," the post reads.

Cobos-Martinez had an extensive criminal history, including prior convictions for child sex abuse, grand theft of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment and carjacking.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Cobos-Martinez was recently in ICE Dallas custody at the Bluebonnet Detention Center until he was released on an order of supervision on Jan. 13, despite having a final order of removal to Cuba.

Trump blamed the actions of the Biden administration for the suspect’s release and said Cobos-Martinez will be charged with first-degree murder.

"Rest assured, the time for being soft on these Illegal Immigrant Criminals is OVER under my watch!" Trump said.

US crime, anti-ICE protests fuel Trump's agenda

Back in February 2024, the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley by a Venezuelan immigrant ignited a firestorm that Trump successfully harnessed on the campaign trail. As his administration conducts mass deportations nationwide, the Dallas beheading is the latest gruesome crime the president has used to draw attention to illegal immigration.

He and conservative allies have also latched onto the Nagamallaiah murder — and others like it — to argue that crime in the U.S. is out of control. One such case is the Aug. 22 murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed by a homeless man while riding a rail car in Charlotte, North Carolina. These crimes are being used to justify the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in U.S. cities.

Trump sent thousands of troops to Los Angeles this summer to crack down on anti-ICE protests. In August, he federalized the Washington, D.C., police force during an emergency 30-day takeover, citing a need to fight crime in the nation's capital.

A federal judge ruled on Sept. 2 that Trump's National Guard deployment in Los Angeles was illegal, but the ruling hasn't stopped him from threatening to occupy other Democrat-led cities. He said Friday that Memphis, Tennessee, would receive troops soon.

On Monday, Trump threatened to call another national emergency in D.C. if police don't comply with ICE agents.