Five criminal illegal aliens, some accused of sexual abuse and forcible touching, were arrested by immigration officers after being released due to New York City’s sanctuary city policy.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) located five criminal illegal aliens previously released under New York City sanctuary guidelines, which bar local law enforcement from handing over criminal aliens for deportation.
“At-large criminal alien arrests are among the most dangerous types of enforcement actions ICE officers are engaged in on a daily basis,” New York ICE official Thomas Decker said in a statement. “These arrests also represent the greatest risk to the community. This level of unnecessary risk can be mitigated in many instances.”
The five criminal illegal aliens include:
- Gurnam Singh, a 21-year-old illegal alien from India, who is accused of assault, forcible touching, harassment and sexual abuse. Singh was first arrested by New York law enforcement in December 2016. After being released, Singh was re-arrested days later, but released on bond shortly after. In June, Singh was arrested for a third time by New York law enforcement on assault and harassment charges but was quickly released again. ICE officials say that because New York City shut down the ICE Criminal Alien Program office on Rikers Island, criminal illegal aliens are no longer interviewed by deportation officers before they are released. In September, Singh was arrested for the fourth time, prompting ICE to file an immigration hold on him, but the request was ignored by local law enforcement and Singh was released once again. A month later, ICE agents located and arrested Singh.
- Marco Freiire, a 42-year-old illegal alien from Ecuador, was arrested by ICE after being released in July, despite a pending immigration hold. Freiire was arrested on assault, criminal possession of a weapon, harassment, and menacing charges at the time. Months later, ICE located and arrested the criminal illegal alien at his residence in Brooklyn.
- Steven Anthony Beswick, a 42-year-old illegal alien from Jamaica, was arrested by ICE after their immigration hold was ignored by Westchester County law enforcement officials. At the time of his arrest, Beswick was released from police custody. He was also previously arrested in New York City on drug charges.
- Jonathan Aparicio, a 20-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested by ICE after being released from Westchester County law enforcement, despite a request to hold the criminal illegal alien. In September, Aparicio pleaded guilty to charges in Yonkers City Court but was released against the request of ICE officials. A month later, ICE arrested Aparicio.
- Omar Castro, a 31-year-old previously deported illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested by ICE after being released by New York City officials. In July, the criminal illegal alien – who served a year in prison for drug charges and was deported from the U.S. in 2010 – was arrested in Brooklyn. At that time, ICE requested that Castro be held until federal immigration officers could take over custody. That request was ignored, however, and Castro was released. Now, the criminal illegal alien is facing deportation and felony charges for re-entering the U.S.
Most recently, as Breitbart News reported, Attorney General Jeff Sessions warned against the dangers of sanctuary city policies, reiterating how the release of criminal illegal aliens creates dangers for local American communities.
“When somebody’s arrested in the jail that’s due to be deported, we just simply ask that they call us, so we can come by and pick them up if they need to be removed,” Sessions explained to the Senate Judiciary Committee. “That’s not happening, and we’ve got to work through it some way.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.