Immigration officers arrested a registered sex offender released from New York City custody despite a detainer placed on the Mexican national.
New York City Department of Corrections (NYCDOC) officials released 36-year-old Andres Flores Lopez from jail after he served time for a misdemeanor sexual offense. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers issued a detainer requesting the authorities detain him six months in advance of his release. Despite the detainer, NYCDOC jail officials released the Mexican national with two sexual abuse convictions without notifying ICE, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from ICE officials.
Following his release by local authorities, ICE officials, then under the Obama Administration, issued a notice for the convicted sex offender to appear before an immigration judge for removal proceedings
Flores Lopez failed to show up for his scheduled hearing. Subsequently, ERO officers tracked down the criminal alien and arrested him on Friday.
ERO officials explained the detainer is issued to allow a coordinated transfer of the criminal alien from the custody of the local jurisdiction to federal immigration authorities. “ICE submits a detainer request to local law enforcement agencies so an alien in the custody of local law enforcement who is subject to removal from the United States can seamlessly be transferred to ICE custody within a 48-hour period of time,” ERO officials said in a written statement. “A transfer of custody that takes place inside the secure confines of a jail or prison is safer for everyone involved, including our officers and the person being arrested.”
“It is unfortunate that we continue to arrest convicted criminals off the street simply because the city refuses to honor detainers and releases them back into our communities,” New York ERO Field Officer Director Thomas R. Decker said. “Each time an officer is forced to pick up someone who could have safely been turned over it puts the officers’ safety, as well as the safety of the neighborhoods we serve, at risk. ICE strives to strengthen its relationships with local law enforcement entities in the interest of public safety.”
New York authorities convicted Flores Lopez of misdemeanor sexual abuse on two separate occasions – December 2012 and May 2014. Following his release from jail, New York authorities ordered the man to register as a sex offender. He entered the U.S. “without inspection” at an unknown date and location.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.