Yet again, a sanctuary city forced federal immigration agents to mount a major manhunt to a find child sex-abuse suspect after the city ignored a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Even worse, it was the second time sanctuary city Philadelphia released the sex fiend despite two detainers.
Meanwhile, ICE has been releasing lists of illegal-alien thugs, rapists, and child molesters who might just be set free if the sanctuaries holding them refuse to honor detainers.
“Deviate Sexual Intercourse”
The story of Hector Moran-Espinoza is typical.
On April 2, Philadelphia cops arrested the Guatemalan illegal for a long list of crimes, ICE reported:
• Involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion;
• unlawful contact with a minor — sexual offenses;
• statuary sexual assault;
• endangering the welfare of children — parent;
• corruption of minors;
• indecent assault — without the consent of other person;
• reckless endangerment of another person;
• rape by forceable compulsion;
• sexual abuse of children — photographing;
• videotaping, depicting on a computer, or filming sexual acts;
• aggravated indecent assault without consent.
City authorities freed him despite ICE’s lodging a detainer the same day.
A month later, ICE reported, police picked him up again for these crimes:
• Unlawful contact with a minor — sexual offenses;
• corruption of minors;
• indecent assault of a person under 13 years of age;
• reckless endangerment of another person;
• endangering the welfare of a child — parent or guardian commits offense.
ICE lodged another detainer the same day but, again, city authorities released him.
ICE finally caught the Guatemalan pervert on November 27.
Lists Released
Cases such as Moran-Espinoza’s have inspired ICE to release lists of illegal-alien criminals the agency fears that sanctuaries will release.
Last week, the agency notified the public of five outstanding detainers thus far ignored by Montgomery County, Maryland, a notorious sanctuary. Among the illegal aliens ICE wants to arrest are four with sex-crime charges, including second-degree rape and child abuse and molestation.
Another suspect is charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder and attempted first- and second-degree assault.
Montgomery County residents face a major illegal-alien sex-crime problem, and residents never know when authorities will free a rapist or child molester instead of turning him over to ICE.
The four illegals that ICE believes Wake County, North Carolina, might release include one charged with first-degree rape of a child, another charged with statutory rape, and yet a third with second-degree forcible rape and attempted second-degree forcible rape.
Another sanctuary, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, ICE worries, might release two illegals charged with statutory rape.
Mecklenburg has released dozens of illegal-alien criminals despite detainers from ICE.
The county even released an illegal alien convicted of killing another motorist in a drunk-driving wreck, which forced ICE agents to find and catch him.
At the Border
That long list of illegals demonstrates not just that the U.S. border with Mexico is easily crossed and detection easily evaded, but that towns and cities are purposely undermining the enforcement of federal immigration law.
That subversion, ICE officials note, endangers the public.
Arrests at the border every day spotlight what could occur when sanctuary officials defy federal law.
Last week, Border Patrol agents in California’s El Centro Border Sector collared a gang member about 12 miles west of the Calexico Port of Entry, Customs and Border Protection reported.
“At the station, record checks revealed the man was identified as Salvador Mercado-Mendez, a 38-year-old Mexican national,” the agency reported. “Mercado was previously charged and convicted for participating in a criminal street gang. Mercado received a 10-year prison sentence for using a ‘firearm in a street gang act’ out of Santa Ana, California.”
Mercado is a multiple deportee, and was last booted from the United States on July 26, 2018.
But what if Mercado, like so many illegal-alien thugs deported more than once, had evaded detection and found refuge in California, then been arrested by local cops for yet another crime?
ICE would have been in the same position it was with the Guatemalan sex fiend and those others. It would have been forced to file a detainer, which sanctuary California likely would have ignored. And Mercado would be free.
The upshot? Once an illegal-alien gets through the thin cordon of the Border Patrol, if arrested again by local police in a sanctuary, he can rely on those local authorities to release him before ICE can seize and deport him.
Image: P_Wei via iStock / Getty Images Plus
R. Cort Kirkwood is a long-time contributor to The New American and a former newspaper editor.
