It's tough to argue that Montgomery County, Maryland hasn't been impacted by a porous southern border. A fifth illegal immigrant was recently arrested by local authorities after allegedly crawling into a 16-year-old girl's bed and raping her at knifepoint.
ABC 7's Kevin Lewis, who has first reported all five alleged rapes, says that "Nelson Reyes-Medrano is accused of crawling into bed with a 16yo Germantown, Md. girl as she napped."
NEW: Nelson Reyes-Medrano is accused of crawling into bed with a 16yo Germantown, Md. girl as she napped. The 46yo proceeded to rape the teen at knifepoint, police say.
— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) August 27, 2019
This is the fifth undocumented immigrant arrested on rape charges in Montgomery County, Md. in the last month. pic.twitter.com/l4YXwSPFLI
Reyes-Medrano is a father of 10 children, six of whom are under the age 18. He has worked as a baker in Prince George’s County since 2016.
Illegal Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that the suspect is a Salvadoran national illegally residing in the country. The federal agency has placed a detainer on Reyes-Medrano.
As I have previously stated, Montgomery County does not consider itself a sanctuary city, but its policies still place Americans at risk.
While Montgomery County does not officially recognize itself a sanctuary county, its protocol makes it a de facto sanctuary county. This means they do not comply with ICE in most situations.
"Our law enforcement and other support agencies will continue to follow local laws, rules and regulations. As a matter of policy, we do not inquire about anyone's immigration status to support immigration enforcement, nor do we conduct immigration raids or investigations," County Executive Marc Elrich said in a July 2019 government resource page titled, "Montgomery County Supports Immigrants."
"We also encourage residents to seek help from organizations that provide legal assistance and advice, so individuals will know their rights if they are stopped or detained by ICE," County Council President Nancy Navarro added.