In a recent development, federal authorities have apprehended an illegal immigrant who had previously been released by a sheriff in a sanctuary city in upstate New York.
This incident has drawn criticism from the Department of Justice under President Donald Trump's administration, which expressed disapproval of the sheriff's decision to release the individual despite his criminal background.
According to The Post Millennial, Jesus Romero-Hernandez, a 27-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico, was charged on January 8, 2024, with illegally reentering the United States after a prior deportation. Romero-Hernandez had earlier pleaded guilty to third-degree assault charges in Tompkins County, New York. Despite these charges and a federal arrest warrant for illegal entry, local authorities released him. Acting Deputy Attorney Emil Bove criticized the Tompkins County Sheriffs Office, stating, The Tompkins County Sheriffs Office in Ithaca, NY, a self-described sanctuary city, appears to have failed to honor a valid federal arrest warrant for a criminal alien with an assault conviction."
Bove further remarked on the situation, highlighting the risks federal agents faced in recapturing Romero-Hernandez. Yesterday, despite the warrant, a defendant with no legal status and a history of violence was released into the community. Federal agents risked their safety and pursued the defendant in unsafe conditions. Today, they were successful in recapturing the defendant," he stated.
The controversy stems from Tompkins County's policy, which, as reported by the New York Post, dictates that county employees, including the sheriff, should not engage in activities solely for enforcing federal immigration law. This includes ignoring civil immigration warrants, administrative warrants, or immigration detainers, even those listed in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.
Romero-Hernandez's guilty plea resolved his assault charges in New York State, yet the Tompkins County Sheriffs Office's decision not to enforce the federal arrest warrant allowed his release before ICE-ERO agents could take him into custody. This decision prevented his immediate transport to federal court in Syracuse for arraignment on the federal criminal complaint. The incident underscores the ongoing tension between federal immigration enforcement and local sanctuary policies, raising questions about public safety and the rule of law.
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