Thread: Middlesex County Jail Releases Illegal Immigrant; ICE Arrests Him

A Honduran man convicted of child endangerment was released by the Middlesex County jail, which does not comply with most ICE detainers.

By Carly Baldwin, Patch Staff | Jun 12, 2018 5:20 pm ET | Updated Jun 12, 2018 6:26 pm ET

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — One of the 91 people picked up by ICE in New Jersey last week was a 47-year-old Honduran man who had been convicted of child welfare endangerment, but released by Middlesex County Jail.

He was let go — only to be re-arrested by federal agents — because the Middlesex County jail has a policy of not complying with most federal immigration detainer requests. Voted on and approved by Middlesex County Freeholders, this policy has been in place since June of 2017, and effectively makes Middlesex County a "sanctuary county."

The Honduran man, who was living in New Brunswick but federal agents say is in the U.S. illegally, was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child. He will likely be deported.

Normally, if an undocumented immigrant is arrested and charged with a crime, ICE requests county jails hold the person for up to an additional 48 hours so they can be picked up by federal immigration officers.

However, last June the Middlesex County Board of Freeholders decided to refuse to honor ICE's two-day hold orders unless the person has been convicted of a first- or second-degree serious offense. Those most serious offenses include murder, drug distribution, carjacking and sex assault.

Middlesex County is the first — and so far, only — county in New Jersey to refuse such requests. Middlesex County Freeholder Shanti Narra was a prominent advocate of the policy. Neither she nor Freeholder Director Ronald Rios returned Patch's calls when asked about this.

Mark Cranston, the warden at the Middlesex County Jail, did not return Patch's emails to him for a comment, but a spokeswoman for Middlesex County said that compliance with 48-hour civil detainer requests is voluntary, not mandatory.

ICE has previously called Middlesex County's decision "dangerous."

"Counties like Middlesex, that have policies specifically tailored to protect criminal aliens and in essence assist criminals in undermining federal law, not only create a dangerous environment in the community but also place an undue burden on local law enforcement," John Tsoukaris, ICE's Newark field office director, said in the fall of 2017, when ICE arrested 36 people illegal immigrants released by the Middlesex County jail. "ICE will continue to execute its mission in such communities."

However, immigrant advocates cheer Middlesex County's decision.

Karina Wilkinson, co-founder of the Middlesex County Coalition for Immigrant Rights, which worked with the Middlesex Freeholders to pass the policy, said her group thinks the ICE "courtesy holds" are unconstitutional.

"We think these courtesy holds are violating peoples constitutional rights," she told Patch last year. "And we think the Fourth Amendment covers anyone who is in the United States. ICE wants the county to be doing the federal government's job at the county's expense, while doing their best to create an environment of fear in the public and the immigrant community in order to meet their ever-increasing quotas."

"If ICE wants to arrest someone, they can issue a warrant for their arrest. But they would rather send a fax to local jails, asking them to simply hold someone until they get around to picking them up. It violates everyone's Fourth Amendment rights," agreed Ellen Whitt, a Highland Park resident and local immigration advocate.

A total of 91 undocumented immigrants total were picked up by ICE last week in New Jersey, seven of them from Middlesex County and one from Monmouth. They include a 31-year-old Venezuelan national, who police say is a member of MS-13 and was living in South Brunswick, and a 32-year-old Dominican national in Perth Amboy, who was convicted for cocaine possession and domestic violence assault.

The Middlesex County jail is located in North Brunswick.

https://patch.com/new-jersey/newbrun...ce-arrests-him

Put him in Federal Tent City on Federal Land...NO amenities and NO visitors except via Skype!

Then deport his carcass out of here!