Officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, released an illegal immigrant charged with raping a child despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer request.
Rene Ramos-Hernandez, a Salvadoran national, was booked last month on one count of sexual abuse of a minor and two counts of second-degree rape following an allegation of “forced unwanted sexual intercourse” with a 7-year-old girl “at least ten times” in the early 2000s, according to WJLA.
The day after his arrest, ICE’s Baltimore field office filed a civil immigration detainer against Ramos-Hernandez, but a judge granted him a $30,000 unsecured personal bond, and he was ultimately released. ICE says they were not given enough time to come and collect him at the jail.
ICE officials told WJLA that they were only given an hour’s notice that Ramos-Hernandez was being released.
Ramos-Hernandez faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted.
The move to release Ramos-Hernandez without cooperating with ICE agents comes as hostility between immigration officials and local law enforcement has become contentious. Last summer, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced that his Department of Correction and Rehabilitation would not cooperate with ICE any longer, with the exception of cases where a “serious crime” was committed.
“Montgomery County continues the practice of not honoring lawful ICE detainers and release potential public safety threats back into the community,” acting Baltimore field office Director Francisco Madrigal said in a statement. “When they refuse to give adequate notification of an impending release to allow a safe transfer of custody, it shows their actions are insincere. ICE believes the best way to protect public safety is for law enforcement to work together.”
Nine illegal immigrants were charged with rape last year in a two-month period in Montgomery County. The county “quietly reversed” its sanctuary city designation but only partially.
[Read more: Democratic ICE cuts would restrain Trump from detaining illegal immigrants]
