Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Wednesday that it had caught an illegal immigrant who was convicted of a child sex offense, but was later released onto the streets in Virginia, despite an ICE detainer.
ICE announced that it had arrested a Guatemalan illegal immigrant who was convicted in February of aggravated sexual battery on a minor. He had been arrested in 2022.
On Feb 9 of this year, he was convicted in Richmond, Va., and was sentenced to 20 years in jail, ICE said. However, the court suspended 18 years and two months of his sentence. He was then released by the Richmond City Jail on Feb 21.
ICE had issued a detainer – a request that they be notified before the immigrant is released from custody and to keep them until ICE can take custody of them. However, it was ignored and the Guatemalan illegal immigrant sex offender was released onto the streets.
On the same day, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operation (ERO) branch in Washington located him and he fled. According to the agency, after a brief pursuit, they caught him and took him into custody.
"This convicted sex offender represented a significant threat to the residents of our Virginia communities," ERO Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Liana Castano said in a statement.
"His apprehension highlights the danger caused when jurisdictions have policies in place which restrict information sharing between state or local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. This noncitizen fled from our officers, placing himself, our officers, and the general public in danger during the course of the pursuit, which could have been avoided if ERO had been afforded the opportunity to assume custody in a secure setting — in accordance with an immigration detainer and federal law," Castano said.
Fox has reached out to the Richmond Sheriff’s Office for comment.
The unnamed Guatemalan has a lengthy history tracing back to 2017 when he was first encountered after entering illegally. He was arrested by Border Patrol in Arizona and released with a notice to appear at an immigration court. He was ordered removed in 2019.
He was arrested in August 2019 in Richmond for driving under the influence. A detainer for his arrest was then also not honored, ICE said. He was convicted but the 90 day sentence was also suspended.
Again, ICE picked him up after his release, this time deporting him to Guatemala. He then re-entered the U.S. again at an unknown date, time and location, meaning he entered as a "gotaway" for the second time.
It was in Feb. 2022 he was arrested in Florida for a Virginia warrant for carnal knowledge of a child, and he was later extradited to Richmond.
The arrest comes as the practice of ignoring ICE detainers has come under scrutiny after a spate of high-profile illegal immigrant crimes.
The White House recently told Fox News Digital that it would like help from states in turning criminals over to ICE.
"We welcome local law enforcement’s support and cooperation in apprehending and removing individuals who pose a risk to national security or public safety," a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital last week in response to a question about its stance on sanctuary cities. "When a local jurisdiction has information about an individual who could pose a threat to public safety, we want them to share that information with ICE."
"Just since May 12, DHS has removed or returned more than 565,000 individuals — the vast majority of whom crossed the Southwest Border. 565,000 removals and returns is more than every full fiscal year since 2013," they said.
