A previously deported illegal alien from Honduras, Juan Ramon-Vasquez, has been sentenced in Philadelphia after being convicted of repeatedly raping a child. Philadelphia is a sanctuary city and he will serve just 21 months in jail.
"In March 2014, he was found back in the United States by U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. At that time, Ramon-Vasquez was in the custody of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons," the Department of Justice explained in a release late Tuesday. "The City of Philadelphia thereafter chose not to comply with a detainer lodged by ICE for Ramon-Vasquez, who was instead released from custody by the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. After his release, Ramon-Vasquez proceeded to repeatedly rape a young child. The defendant is currently serving a sentence of 8 to 20 years in state prison for the rapes."
According to DOJ, ICE attempted to remove Ramon-Vasquez before he committed the horrific crime, but was met with opposition by local officials.
“The facts of this case illustrate all too well the direct threat to public safety caused by the City of Philadelphia’s sanctuary city policies,” U.S. Attorney William McSwain said. “After the City let this criminal loose on the streets of Philadelphia, he repeatedly raped a young child. If the ICE detainer had been honored by local law enforcement, this crime never would have happened, and the victim would have been spared horrendous physical and mental trauma. Criminals like Ramon-Vasquez take note: my Office will do everything in its power to find you, to protect our community, and to seek justice for your victims. Unlike the Philadelphia government, we are not on your side.”
ICE Philadelphia Field Office Director for Enformcement and Removal Simone Flores echoed McSwain's statement and further detailed federal efforts to detain Ramon-Vasquez.
“ICE attempted to remove Ramon-Vasquez once before in March 2014, but the City of Philadelphia refused to honor our detainer and he was released back into the community,” Flores said. “Today’s sentencing is a testament to ICE and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s resolve to seek out, arrest, charge and remove dangerous criminals like Ramon-Vasquez who pose a serious threat to our community.”
Democrats across the country continue to support sanctuary city policies.