An illegal immigrant who allegedly defaced Union Station in Washington, DC, with swastikas and has previously been deported four times has been spared being kicked out of the country for a fifth time because the incident occurred in a “sanctuary city.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it will not seek to deport Geraldo Pando, a Mexican national, who was arrested last month for vandalism and is accused of having drawn the crude Nazi symbols two days after International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The incident that scarred the central hub for regional train transportation in the nation’s capital is being investigated as a possible “hate crime.”
In a statement affirmed by Fox News Digital, , an ICE spokesperson said Pando entered the U.S. illegally as a minor in 1990. He was arrested for the first time in 2006 in Colorado and was subsequently deported again in 2006, 2007, 2014 and 2017.
As Breitbart News reported, the incident occurred when the crude Nazi symbols marked on columns across the front of the massive building and several clustered around the escalator entrance to the underground D.C. Metro. were first found by local police.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser called the incident “both shocking and unsettling.”
“This antisemitic and hateful symbol has no place in our city, and we stand united with the members of our Jewish community against antisemitism in all its forms,” she said.
Bowser said Union Station used a team of experts working to remove the graffiti.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington posted a statement on Instagram, calling the timing “particularly offensive” and added, “This anti-semitic and hateful symbol has no place in our society.”
The Washington Examiner first reported Pando’s past criminal history and deportations, including a 35-page criminal history in Colorado for crimes stretching from possession of drugs to misdemeanor theft, and that ICE had not sought to take him into custody after his arrest.
ICE told Fox News Digital it has not issued a detainer — a request ICE be informed of an illegal immigrant’s pending release from custody, so they can be moved into deportation proceedings. The spokesperson cited D.C.’s status as a “non-cooperative jurisdiction,” typically referred to as a “sanctuary city.”
Sanctuary cities carry out policies to shield illegal immigrants from federal immigration law enforcement officials resulting in most ICE detainees being ignored.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.