Blue County Released Illegal Migrant Rapist After Ignoring ICE Detainer
Law enforcement officials in Charles County, Maryland, released a convicted rapist living unlawfully in the country after ignoring a request to hand him over to deportation officers and suspending nearly his entire…
Law enforcement officials in Charles County, Maryland, released a convicted rapist living unlawfully in the country after ignoring a request to hand him over to deportation officers and suspending nearly his entire 20-year prison sentence.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Henry Argueta-Tobar, a 19-year-old Guatemalan national living in the U.S. illegally, on Wednesday in Waldorf, Maryland, the agency confirmed in a press release. Deportation officers were able to nab Argueta-Tobar after local officials allegedly refused to cooperate on requests to transfer him into their custody.
“After unlawfully entering our country, Henry Argueta-Tobar made his way to Maryland and victimized one of our residents,” ERO Baltimore acting Deputy Field Office Director Vernon Liggins stated. “We could not allow him to continue to threaten our communities.”
“ERO Baltimore will continue to prioritize public safety by relentlessly pursuing unlawfully present sexual predators and egregious criminal noncitizens,” Liggins continued.
Federal Immigration authorities first encountered Argueta-Tobar when he was apprehended by Border Patrol in May 2019 after he illegally crossed into the U.S. near El Paso, Texas, as a minor, according to ICE. Border Patrol transferred custody of him to ICE and then was ultimately released into the country on an order of recognizance.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office charged Argueta-Tobar with second degree rape and arrested him on Dec. 22, according to ICE. The agency lodged a detainer request — which asks local authorities to alert deportation officers when a migrant will be released from their custody — on Dec. 27, but ICE says the Charles County Detention Center refused to honor the