Sanctuary County Ignores ICE Detainer Request, Releases Alleged Rapist Back Into the Public

Mauricio Barrera-Navidad, 29 and Carlos Palacios-Amaya, 28, both illegal immigrants from El Salvador, raped an 11-year-old girl, the girl said. Police found pictures of the girl with Palacios-Amaya on his cellphone. Montgomery County Police Department

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• An illegal alien from El Salvador was arrested in Montgomery County, a “sanctuary” for illegal migrants, and charged with second-degree rape and second-degree assault. 
• ICE lodged a detainer request for the individual, but local authorities ignored the request, and allowed him to walk out of the detention center after posting bail. 
• Montgomery County has witnessed several high-profile rape cases involving illegal aliens since an executive order was signed that prohibits cooperation with ICE.

A Maryland detention center ignored a detainer request by ICE and released an alleged rapist from custody, the latest run-in between federal immigration authorities and the county since it enacted a “sanctuary city” executive order.

Rodrigo Castro-Montejo, a 25-year-old Salvadoran national, was arrested by local authorities in Montgomery County, Maryland on Aug. 10 and charged with second-degree rape and second-degree assault. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed a detainer request on him on August 12 because Castro-Montejo is living in the U.S. illegally, an agency spokeswoman told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

However, the Montgomery County Detention Center ignored the request and released him the following day. News of Castro-Montejo’s release marks the latest national headline for the liberal enclave since County Executive Mark Elrich, a Democrat, signed an executive order that largely prohibits how local law enforcement from interacting with ICE.

The executive order forbids police from asking people about their immigration status, and it also prohibits them from cooperating with federal immigration authorities under most circumstances. The order, known formally as “The Promoting Community Trust Executive Order,” builds on sanctuary policies already established in the county.

However, in just a month since the order was signed by Elrich, the Democrat-run county has attracted national attention for the arrests of illegal aliens accused of rape.

Montgomery County Police arrested Mauricio Barrera-Navidad, 29, and Carlos Palacios-Amaya, 28—both of whom are residents of Montgomery County—for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl on multiple occasions. One of the suspects allegedly raped the middle school-aged girl orally, vaginally, and anally, according to authorities, all while he lived in the county that afforded him sanctuary protection.

ICE confirmed to the DCNF that both Barrera-Navidad and Palacios-Amaya are Salvadoran nationals living in the U.S. illegally.

Illegal immigrants are arrested during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aimed at immigration fugitives, re-entrants and at-large criminal aliens in Los Angeles on Feb. 7, 2017. Charles Reed/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP

“Montgomery County is a welcoming community that values the diversity of communities that are made up of people from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and nations,” Elrich said in a statement earlier in August regarding the arrests. He went on to say that Montgomery officials would notify ICE when the pair are released from their custody.

The county executive added that the decision to notify ICE was not a rollback of current sanctuary policy because individuals charged with “serious crimes” were always exempt.

However, the release of Castro-Montejo, an illegal alien accused of rape, has brought renewed scrutiny by immigration authorities over how Montgomery officials execute their sanctuary policies.

The Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DOCR) received a detainer order from ICE on Aug. 12, 2019, for Rodrigo A. Castro-Montejo, “a suspect accused of rape,” read a Montgomery County statement provided to the DCNF. “At 12 p.m. on Aug. 13, 2019, DOCR contacted ICE via telephone—using a number to a local ICE supervisor provided by that agency for notification purposes—in order to inform them that Castro-Montejo was being processed for release that day. DOCR released Castro-Montejo at approximately 6 p.m., six hours later.”

“DOCR has not received a follow-up call from ICE, nor any other communication regarding Castro-Montejo, since notifying ICE of his release,” the statement continued.

Castro-Montejo is accused of raping a female victim he knew personally after heavy consumption of alcohol. After a night of dancing, she allegedly awoke to the Salvadoran national raping her in a hotel bedroom.

By Jason Hopkins

From The Daily Caller News Foundation

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