Chicago Ignored ICE Detainer On Illegal Alien — Now He’s Been Arrested For Allegedly
Chicago Ignored ICE Detainer On Illegal Alien — Now He’s Been Arrested For Allegedly Abusing A Toddler
by Jason Hopkins February 29, 2020
An illegal alien arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a toddler would have been in federal custody had the Chicago Police Department in 2019 honored an immigration detainer on him and not release him back into the community.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an immigration detainer for Christopher Puente, 34-year-old Mexican national living in the U.S. illegally, with the Chicago Police Department in June 2019 upon his arrest for theft. However, that detainer request was ignored, and Puente has since been charged with sexually abusing a child, according to a press release by the agency.
An ICE spokesperson ripped Chicago leaders, noting that their lack of cooperation could have prevented Puente’s alleged crime.
“How many more victims must there be before lawmakers realize that sanctuary policies do not protect the innocent?” Robert Guadian, field office director of Chicago Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), asked in a statement. “Puente should have been in ICE custody last year and removed to his home country. Instead, irresponsible lawmaking allowed him to walk free and prey on our most vulnerable.”
Puente touts a lengthy criminal rap sheet, dating back years before his 2019 arrest in Chicago.
The Mexican national was convicted of forced-entry burglary in 2011, forgery in 2012, and forced-entry burglary again in 2017 — all of which are felony crimes. Puente is also known to go by the aliases Christopher Adam Puente, Chris Jose Puente, and Juan Manue Lopez, according to ICE.
Federal immigration authorities deported Puente back to Mexico on Dec. 5, 2014, but just five days later, he was apprehended by border agents at Brownsville, Texas. He said he was American and provided a birth certificate, but was subsequently charged with falsely claiming to be U.S. citizen.
Puente was served a notice to appear before an immigration judge, but apparently disappeared into the interior of the country. He never appeared for his immigration hearing, and a judge March 30, 2017, ordered him to be removed from the U.S. in absentia.
Despite this lengthy criminal record, the Chicago Police Department chose not to honor the ICE detainer placed on Puente after he landed in their custody in June 2019 on theft charges. He was ultimately released back into the community, and on Feb. 19 he was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 3-year-old child at a fast food restaurant.
ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the Cook County Jail on Feb. 20 following Puente’s sexual assault arrest, but it’s not clear if local authorities will honor the request.
Chicago — a liberal bastion that has become increasingly hostile toward federal immigration authorities — has formal policies in place that forbid local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE. In fiscal year 2019, for example, Cook County ignored more than 1,000 ICE detainers.
Speaking before the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference October 2019, President Donald Trump called Chicago the “worst sanctuary city in America.”
https://dailycaller.com/2020/02/29/c...exual-assault/
Mexican immigrant who was released by Chicago authorities despite ICE telling them no
Mexican immigrant who was released by Chicago authorities despite ICE telling them not to 'went on to rape a three-year-old girl in a McDonald's bathroom as she cried 'daddy, daddy''
*Christopher Puente, 34, is accused of sexually assaulting the girl at restaurant
*Puente's bond hearing in Cook County heard the little girl's mouth was covered
*ICE had requested that police continue detaining the previously deported felon
By AMELIA WYNNE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:01 EST, 2 March 2020 | UPDATED: 04:58 EST, 2 March 2020
A Mexican immigrant who was released by Chicago authorities despite ICE telling them not to 'went on to rape a three-year-old girl in a McDonald's bathroom as she cried ''daddy, daddy''.'
Christopher Puente, 34, is accused of sexually assaulting the girl at the restaurant on 600 N. Clark St. in the River North area of the city at around 8am on February 19.
The alleged attack happened while the girl's father was in another stall with her brother, who had had an accident in the restaurant.
However ICE had requested that police continue detaining the previously deported felon - who had convictions for forced-entry burglary and forgery.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/03...3139197788.jpg
Christopher Puente, 34, (pictured) is accused of sexually assaulting the girl at the restaurant in River North. However ICE had requested that police continue detaining the previously deported felon - who had convictions for forced-entry burglary and forgery
Despite his background, Chicago declined ICE's June 2019 request to detain Puente.
ICE have said this is an increasingly common battle, with the agency reporting that Cook County, which includes Chicago, denied more than 1,000 detainer requests in 2019 alone.
Puente's bond hearing in Cook County heard the little girl's mouth was covered as she began whimpering 'daddy, daddy' - before her father pulled her legs from under the door to get her to safety.
The horrific ordeal was relayed in court where the accused rapist appeared for the first time.
Robert Guadian, field office director of Chicago Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), blamed 'irresponsible lawmaking' for Puentes release.
'How many more victims must there be before lawmakers realize that sanctuary policies do not protect the innocent?' Guadian said.
'Puente should have been in ICE custody last year and removed to his home country. Instead, irresponsible lawmaking allowed him to walk free and prey on our most vulnerable,' he told Fox News.
Images of Puente on surveillance footage were circulated through a community alert and he was later brought in by police for an unrelated criminal trespass before being linked to the assault case.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/03...3139239355.jpg
The alleged attack happened while the girl's father was in another stall with her brother, who had had an accident in the restaurant (pictured) on 600 N. Clark St. in the River North area of the city
He was charged with criminal trespass after refusing to leave a local business in River North.
While investigating, officers recognized him as being the man pictured and he was linked to the sexual assault case.
The accused is said to have admitted to investigators he put the toddler on his lap, sexually assaulted her and covered her mouth to stop her calling for help.
The child's dad then tried to open the locked cubicle after hearing his daughter's calls before dragging her by her legs from under the door, reports CBS Chicago.
The alleged attacker then fled the McDonald's and a manhunt was launched, with Puente now facing charges of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim younger than 13 years old.
Prosecutors said the defendant told police 'he was f***ed up and thinking dirty' and that he was high at the time.
He also said he was paranoid and looking around as he left the bathroom because he 'knew what he did was wrong'.
Puente has been convicted multiple times between 2006 and 2016, mainly for theft, according to court records.
He is due to return to court on March 10 and is being held in custody, without bail.
ICE official Henry Lucero previously warned that Illinois' sanctuary status made it more difficult for federal authorities to track criminals.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-old-girl.html
Man released under ‘sanctuary city’ rules sexually assaults 3-year-old: ICE
Mar. 2, 2020
Lee Brown
An illegal immigrant was released under Chicago’s “sanctuary city” policy — only to sexually assault a 3-year-old girl and leave her sobbing for her father in a McDonald’s bathroom, according to authorities.
Mexican national Christopher Puente, 34, was only in Chicago because cops refused to hold him for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after he was arrested last year, ICE charged in a statement.
He was then arrested last month for allegedly assaulting the 3-year-old after luring her to his bathroom stall while her dad helped her brother in the restaurant restroom, the Chicago Sun-Times has reported.
“The victim called out ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy told a bond hearing last month, according to the Sun-Times.
Puente confessed, telling cops he was “f–ked up and thinking dirty,” Leighton Criminal Courthouse heard — but seemed stunned when he was held without bail for predatory criminal sexual assault, the paper said.
“You don’t understand. This is my first time,” the hearing-impaired defendant signed rapidly in court, the Sun-Times said.
Puente — who already had a long rap sheet — was deported in 2014, but sneaked back over the Texas border just five days later, ICE said last week.
Agents filed a formal request for him to be detained and ultimately deported when he was arrested for theft last June — but the agency says the “detainer was not honored,” leaving him free for his latest attack.
“How many more victims must there be before lawmakers realize that sanctuary policies do not protect the innocent?” asked Robert Guadian, field office director of Chicago enforcement and removal operations. “Puente should have been in ICE custody last year and removed to his home country. Instead, irresponsible lawmaking allowed him to walk free and prey on our most vulnerable.”
Chicago police defended their decision not to cooperate with ICE on immigration-related business, ABC News said.
“The Chicago Police Department remains committed to protecting all Chicago residents regardless of their immigration status,” Chicago police said in a statement. “Our pledge to restrict ICE access to our information systems and our refusal to cooperate with ICE immigration enforcement measures has not changed.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said ICE should “do their job better,” ABC said.
“They’re critical because we have said very clearly we are a welcoming city, a sanctuary city,” Lightfoot said, according to the network. “Chicago Police Department will not cooperate with ICE on any immigration-related business.”
https://nypost.com/2020/03/02/man-re...-year-old-ice/
