MIAMI — A Haitian immigrant has confessed to fatally beating a woman to death with a hammer last week at the Fort Myers convenience store where she worked, according to police and court records. Rolbert Joachin is now facing murder charges in Lee County.

The case has become the latest flashpoint in immigration politics because Joachin had deportation protections under Temporary Protected Status.

On April 2, the Fort Myers Police Department responded to “multiple 911 calls” about a woman who had been hit with a hammer at a gas station, according to an incident report When police arrived, they found a woman on the floor with multiple head wounds and who wasn’t breathing. Witnesses told police they had seen the man who attacked her after smashing her car’s windshield.

“The suspect approached female (the victim) and struck her in the head with the mallet, causing her to fall to the ground. The suspect then continued striking the victim approximately three to four additional times while she was on the ground,” the police report recounts witnesses telling police.

The report identified the woman as a convenience store employee at the gas station. Officers identified Joachin from the store’s surveillance footage. They had had prior interactions with him, as recently as March 24, according to the report. Officers circulated photos of him on social media and local outlets. One officer spotted him walking on Mango Street, After apprehending him, Joachin “provided a detailed confession about the murder,” according to the police report.

Florida charged Joachin with murder without premeditation. He is also facing a felony charge for property damage and criminal mischief. Court records show he cannot have contact with the victim’s family and that he is being held without bond. Joachin has a hearing on Wednesday, and does not appear to have an attorney on record.

The grisly murder has become the latest focus in the national immigration debate, with the Department of Homeland Security blaming the Biden administration for the murder because it gave deportation protections under Temporary Protected status to Joachin.

“This illegal alien barbarically hit this woman in the head multiple times with a hammer. This heinous murderer was RELEASED into the country by the Biden administration…Their reckless immigration policies cost this woman her life,” said Homeland Security Secretary Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.

Court records say that the victim’s identity is confidential under Marsy’s law, which protects Florida victims of crime to keep their information private. Gulf Coast News, the local ABC affiliate, identified the victim only by her first name. Yasmin, a mother of two children who is originally from Bangladesh. There is a growing memorial to the woman outside the gas station, the TV station said.

DHS did not mention the victim’s nationality in its statement. It did say that Joachin came to the United States in 2022, the same year a judge ordered him deported. Joachin’s TPS was scheduled to last until 2024, DHS said. Beneficiaries of TPS must pass background and criminal checks. To apply for the program, someone cannot have any felonies or two or more misdemeanors on their record.

The Trump administration has been fiercely litigating in the courts to end TPS for Haiti and several other countries. Last month, an appeals court upheld TPS for Haitians, upholding a ruling from Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, but the administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the case days later.

Jeremy Redfern, the deputy chief of staff for Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, shared the story of the murder, along with a mug shot of Joachin, on his X account.

The federal judge “said that ending TPS for Haitians was racist, and she blocked the attempt. Oral arguments over whether SCOTUS should stay Judge Reyes’ order happening on April 29th,” Redfern wrote. “So, here we are.”

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