College Girl’s Slasher Took a Knife to His Coworker’s Throat and DHS Just Revealed His Immigration Status

A ride home from work ended with Olivia Neri's throat slashed inside her own car.

Her accused attacker pulled a knife without warning and did not stop until the car crashed.

Federal officials now say the man accused of nearly killing her never broke a single immigration law to get here.

DHS Says Torres Entered Through Newark on a Temporary Work Visa

Olivia Neri worked alongside David Cruz Torres at Augie's To Go in Saratoga Springs.

The New York Post identified her as a college student.

At the end of their shift, Torres asked her for a ride home.

Police say he pulled a knife and cut her throat while she was still driving.

She jumped from the moving car and screamed for help as it crashed into the restaurant where they both worked.

Torres tried to run before officers caught him.

Neri suffered what police called a serious laceration and was airlifted to the hospital with life threatening injuries.

A GoFundMe for her recovery has raised more than $42,000.

Torres, 36, is from Michoacán, in west central Mexico.

Saratoga County District Attorney Brett Eby said it is his understanding that Torres was here lawfully on a work visa.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed it: Torres entered the United States legally on May 19 through Newark Liberty International Airport with permission to stay for a temporary period.

He walked through a federal port of entry, filed the paperwork, and got the stamp.

Police have since charged him with second degree attempted murder and fourth degree criminal possession of a weapon.

ICE Lodged a Detainer While New York Decides Whether to Cooperate

ICE placed a detainer on Torres on October 12, 2026, while he sat in the Saratoga County Jail facing attempted murder and weapons charges.

A DHS spokesperson said the department is calling on New York to honor that detainer.

New York has a long record of limiting how far its local jails will go in holding someone for ICE beyond their release date.

Whether Saratoga County actually turns Torres over to federal custody once his criminal case ends is still an open question.

Immigration attorney Carlo De Oliveira said a conviction would carry significant consequences for anyone trying to hold permanent status.

DHS calls Torres "a criminal alien from Mexico."

That label fits the facts, but it hides the part of this story that should worry every employer and every visa officer in the country.

Torres did not sneak across a border or overstay a tourist visa for a decade before snapping.

He was months into a legal stay when, prosecutors say, he nearly killed a coworker in broad daylight.

The Visa Stamp That Vetted Nothing

A Colorado man accused of firebombing a pro-Israel demonstration earlier this year was working under a federal work permit despite having overstayed his original visa.

ICE has also cited an immigration enforcement action tied to an Indian national in a separate San Antonio attack case this year.

Torres fits the same pattern: the government's approval came first, and the violence came after, with no warning in between.

Vetting a work visa application means checking a passport, a job offer, and a background check against whatever records exist in Torres's home country.

It does not mean anyone sat across from him and asked whether he would ever hurt someone.

That gap is not new, and Senate Republicans have been warning about it for years.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released tens of thousands of temporary work visas beyond the statutory cap during the Biden administration, and Senator Chuck Grassley said at the time that the program "lacks the necessary controls" to vet who rides it into American workplaces.

Nobody in Washington fixed that before Mayorkas left office, and nobody has slowed the pipeline down since.

Olivia Neri is still recovering from a wound that nearly killed her, airlifted off a crash site because a man holding a federal work permit decided to pull a knife instead of asking for a second ride home.

New York can keep arguing about whether to honor ICE's detainer.

The officials who waved Torres through a Newark checkpoint and stamped his paperwork approved should be the ones answering for what he is now accused of doing next.

Sources:

• Fox News, "Coworker Accused of Slashing Woman's Throat During Ride Home, Victim Escaped Moving Car: Police," Fox News, October 12, 2026.
• CBS6 Albany, "DHS Places ICE Detainer on David Cruz Torres, Charged With Attempted Murder in Attack," CBS6 Albany, October 14, 2026.
• New York Post, "NY College Student Slashed by Mexican National David Cruz Torres as She Drove Him Home From Work," New York Post, October 14, 2026.
• Jewish News Syndicate, "Boulder Terror Suspect Got Work Permit Despite Visa Overstay," Jewish News Syndicate, 2026.
• Senator Chuck Grassley, "DHS Again Releases H-2B Visas Beyond Statutory Cap Without Needed Reforms," U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, October 14, 2022.