An illegal alien who was deported from the U.S. four times pleaded guilty May 8 to the 2025 hit-and-run death of an 11-year-old California boy.
Hector Amador Balderas pleaded guilty to hitting Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz with his vehicle on Nov. 26, 2025, and then fleeing the scene, according to NBC San Diego. The child was hit around 5 p.m. when he tried to retrieve a soccer ball near East Washington Avenue and Hickory Street in Escondido, witnesses alleged.
Police said he was transported to Rady Children’s Hospital, where he died early the next morning on Thanksgiving, the outlet reported. Balderas surrendered to police a few days later.
Balderas, 44, is scheduled to be sentenced in June and faces two to three years in a state prison, NBC San Diego reported. In the meantime, he remains in jail without bail. (RELATED: ICE Arrests Illegal Alien And Alleged Child Rapist Released By ‘Sanctuary’ Fairfax County)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an immigration detainer for Balderas with the San Diego Sheriff’s Office after he was arrested, according to a December 2025 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press release. ICE also issued an arrest detainer when police apprehended Balderas.
Balderas is an illegal alien who was previously deported four times, according to the press release.
Former DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin reacted to his arrest in December 2025 via the press release.
“Thanksgiving should be a day of celebrating family and giving gratitude, but instead the family of Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz mourned this beautiful child’s death because a criminal illegal alien stole his life. Now, sanctuary laws threaten to put this killer back onto California’s streets,” she said.
“Hector Balderas-Aheelor was previously removed FOUR times before he chose to commit a felony and illegally re-enter the country a fifth time. Gavin Newsom, we are calling on YOU to do the right thing and honor ICE’s arrest detainer,” McLaughlin said.
Balderas was deported once in March 2004, twice in June 2004, and once in March 2010 before he allegedly re-entered the U.S. illegally, according to officials, the New York Post reported.
A November 2025 GoFundMe fundraiser generated over $23,000 to support De Paz’s family and pay for his funeral expenses.