I lived in New Jersey for over 25 years, so I am not surprised that they are a sanctuary state, though not officially and cities and towns can honor detainers. But, what Middlesex county has done almost shocks even me.
ICE placed detainers on 92 illegal alien criminals. Fifty-two of them are dangerous felons who were in jail for what is classified by ICE as Level 1 and 2 offenses— such as homicide, sexual assault, and fraud. It is inconceivable that they are protecting these criminals and allowing them back on the streets. One such prisoner went on to commit 3 murders before he was captured.
One of the illegal alien inmates, Luis Rodrigo Perez, 23, was released from the Middlesex County Jail in February after being arrested on domestic violence charges because the jail refused to honor ICE’s immigration detainer on Perez.
Several months later, Perez was accused of fatally shooting two men and wounding two other people in Missouri.
Perez had also been a recipient of the DACA program between 2012 and 2014.
ICE has had a long history of slamming Middlesex County for its “sanctuary” policies, especially after the federal immigration agency arrested 37 criminal illegal aliens in the area in July.
When ICE officials conducted the five-day sweep of the area, they found 16 of the criminal illegal aliens they arrested had been released from the Middlesex County Jail.
If I lived there, I would demand that the authorities keep these dangerous criminals off the streets. Congress needs to pass a bill that would make sanctuary cities, counties and states responsible for crimes committed by people who had a detainer filed on them. That would end this nonsense quickly.