NORTH BRUNSWICK TWP., N.J. — According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Save Jerseyans, a 23 year-old Mexican national faces murder charges in Missouri after being released from the Middlesex County, New Jersey Jail earlier in 2018.
The man — who is illegally present in the country — allegedly committed the murders afyer Middlesex Jail declined a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detainer.
“Yet again, an ICE detainer was ignored and a dangerous criminal alien was released to the streets and is now charged with killing three people,” said ICE Acting Executive Associate Director Corey Price in a statement. “Had ICE’s detainer request in December 2017 been honored by Middlesex County Jail, Luis Rodrigo Perez would have been placed in deportation proceedings and likely sent home to his country – and three innocent people might be alive today. It is past time that localities realize the perils of dangerous sanctuary policies and resume their primary goal of protecting their residents.”
The suspect (Luis Rodrigo Perez) had been held at Middlesex County Jail on domestic violence charges. After Middlesex County Jail refused to honor the detainer request and released Perez in February 2018, the Mexican national ended up in Missouri were he allegedly committed heinous crimes.
“This tragedy might have been avoided had it not been for the reckless policy required of the Middlesex County Jail by their county officials,” added John Tsoukaris, Field Office Director of ERO Newark. “Despite such policies, ICE ERO will continue to enforce federal immigration law and prioritize public safety in the community.”
“We have tried unsuccessfully to work with Middlesex County Jail in the interest of public safety to accept detainers and to contact ICE prior to releasing criminals,” Tsoukaris continued. “There have been other cases where ICE detainers were not honored and those released went on to commit serious crimes. In this most recent case, Perez had a violent history, but despite that, the detainer was not honored. We hope that this tragic turn of events forces Middlesex to reconsider its policy and that the local elected officials stop protecting criminal aliens.”
Click here for the full story from ICE’s website.
Just this summer, ICE and ERO arrested 37 individuals in Middlesex County, New Jersey, 16 of whom were previously released by Middlesex County Jail which refused to honor the ICE detainer or even bother informing ICE of the individuals’ release.
Democrat Governor Phil Murphy supports the policies of Middlesex County; he has pledged to turn New Jersey into a formal ‘Sanctuary State’ free from federal efforts to enforced national immigration laws.
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