Philadelphia officials released a criminal illegal immigrant who had previously been deported despite a warrant issued by a U.S. District Court judge. The officials released the man with a long list of violent charges when immigration officers provided a detainer and warrant.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers were forced to track down the historically violent suspect on the streets after Philadelphia officials released him. ERO officers obtained a criminal arrest warrant from a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and presented that, along with an immigration detainer, to local officials on June 14, according to ICE.
City officials released the suspect, Guillermo Leon-Sandoval, 35, despite the criminal warrant. City officials previously said they would honor immigration detainers that were accompanied by a criminal arrest order signed by a judge. However, Leon-Sandavol was released.
ERO officers tracked down the suspect a few days later and placed him in federal custody.
Philadelphia police charged the previously deported illegal immigrant for alleged unlawful restraint/serious bodily injury; simple assault; recklessly endangering another person; and false imprisonment, according to ICE officials. The charges stemmed from an alleged domestic violence incident involving his wife. The foreign national also has a September 2014 conviction for illegal entry.
“The local government’s goal of making Philadelphia a sanctuary city will not deter us from our mission of making communities safer nationwide and honoring immigration laws,” acting field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia, Gregory Brawley, said in a written statement. “In this case, the individual has been charged with recent violent crimes. We will continue to pursue individuals such as this for arrest and removal.”
“I commend ICE for arresting this individual pursuant to a federal judicial arrest warrant,” McSwain said. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to enforcing federal law, including, of course, our immigration laws. We will continue working with all law enforcement agencies to keep our community safe.”
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, GAB, and Facebook.
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