PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a Colombian national on Feb. 21 after Northampton County Prison released him despite an ICE detainer request, according to federal officials.
The individual, who entered the U.S. illegally in May 2022 near Rio Grande, Texas, was initially arrested by Easton police on Feb. 16 and charged with simple assault and harassment. ICE filed a detainer request with Northampton County Prison on Feb. 18, asking local officials to notify them before the man’s release and to hold him for up to 48 hours. However, he was released on bail on Feb. 19 and freed from custody on Feb. 21.
“Failing to honor immigration detainers jeopardizes public safety and wastes taxpayer funding by forcing ICE to divert significant resources to locate and arrest criminal aliens in unpredictable, high-risk public settings,” said Brian McShane, acting field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Philadelphia.
McShane also criticized a county executive order that prevents local authorities from complying with ICE detainer requests, calling it “an unnecessary recipe for disaster.” He argued that the county’s policy places “politics over public safety.”
ICE cited a similar case in which suspected Tren de Aragua gang member Luis Gualdron-Gualdron, who had a criminal history including indecent assault of a minor, was released by Northampton County Prison on Jan. 31 despite an ICE detainer.