Immigration and Customs Enforcement is releasing quarterly reports of illegal immigrants accused of crimes in an effort to highlight the dangers posed by “sanctuary city” policies after local police denied retainer requests.
ICE released its first “Declined Detainer Report,” a comprehensive list of illegal aliens who were accused of criminal actions after local jails refused to honor ICE detainers and allowed them to be released back into the public. The list pertains to detainers issued between Jan. 1, 2018 and March 31, 2018 — the second quarter of the 2018 fiscal year.
“So you have murders, you have people who did property crime, spousal abuse, driving under the influence, possession of narcotics — they came into custody of local authorities and were released after ICE filed a detainer,” former acting ICE Director Ron Vitiello said Monday on Fox News. “This is a danger to those communities, and [the detainer report] highlights what happens.”
Sixteen different individuals were included in the report. In every instance, authorities arrested an undocumented immigrant for an alleged crime, but they were able to leave after local jails ignored detainer requests by federal immigration authorities who suspected they were living in the U.S. illegally. Those undocumented aliens went on to get re-arrested for more alleged crimes — including murder and rape.
“Cooperation between ICE and state and local law enforcement agencies is critical to the effort to identify and arrest removable aliens and defend the nation’s security. Every day, ICE places detainers on individuals who the agency has probable cause to believe are aliens who are removable from the United States and are currently in federal, state, and local law enforcement agency custody,” the agency wrote in its report.
The report is meant to publicize the consequences when local police forces refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested a 30-year-old Mexican citizen included on the list in January 2018 for possession of a controlled substance. In that same month, ICE lodged a detainer for the individual, but the department ignored the request. Authorities eventually released the Mexican citizen and arrested him again in February 2018 on murder charges.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers execute criminal search warrants and arrest more than 100 company employees on federal immigration violations at a trailer manufacturing business in Sumner, Texas, U.S, Aug. 28, 2018. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Handout via REUTERS
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office in California arrested a 28-year-old Mexican citizen in December 2017 for a probation violation. ICE issued a detainer for him, but he was released into the public after the sheriff’s department ignored it. Authorities arrested him in January 2018 on accusations of rape and other alleged crimes, but he was again able to walk out of jail after an ICE detainer was not honored. (RELATED: ICE Releases List Of Murderers And Rapists Protected Under Sanctuary City Policies)
These new reports are at the direction of President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order during his first five days in office calling for ICE to let the public know when jurisdictions don’t cooperate with them.
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