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Patrick Reaches Out To Family Of Man Killed By Illegal Immigrant

MILFORD (CBS) - Gov. Deval Patrick has reached out directly to the family of a Milford man killed by an alleged drunk driver who is also an illegal immigrant.

Last month, Matthew Denice was killed by an allegedly drunken Nicolas Guaman, an illegal immigrant who ran a stop sign, struck Denice, and dragged him to his death.

When asked about the case's connection to the state's refusal to enroll in the Secure Communities program later in August, Gov. Patrick said that "illegal immigration didn't kill this person, a drunk driver killed this person."

The victim's mother, Maureen Maloney, expressed her frustration with Gov. Patrick's resistance to reversing his stance on the Secure Communities program to WBZ's Jon Keller.

"This person was an illegal immigrant, and if we had the Secure Communities Act in place, this person may hot have had the opportunity to get drunk that day, to get behind the wheel of a car, to kill my child," said Maloney.

Gov. Patrick's press secretary Alex Goldstein said the Governor recently reached out to Denice's family "to express his condolences."

"Out of respect for the family and their privacy, any further correspondence or meeting between the Governor and the family will be private," added Goldstein.

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