A Salvadorian national convicted of murdering a child was recently released by the California Department of Corrections at Pleasant Valley Prison in Chowchilla, California. Sanctuary laws led to the criminal alien's release despite an active immigration detainer lodged by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
California did not honor the immigration detainer against Carlos Morales-Ramirez, who was convicted by the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles in 1998 for second-degree murder, assault on a child causing death, and great bodily injury to a child causing death.
ICE's Enforcement and Removal Office (ERO) in Los Angeles, unwilling to allow the dangerous felon to walk free, arrested Morales-Ramirez in a targeted enforcement action on Dec. 10. He remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
"State sanctuary laws grant law enforcement officials the discretion to cooperate with immigration authorities in instances where serious or violent crimes have been committed; again, we are talking about the murder of a child – rather than working with our officers to ensure this convicted aggravated felon was safely handed over to ICE, he was released back into the community and our officers were forced to exhaust more time and resources relocating and re-arresting him," said ICE’s ERO Los Angeles Field Office Director Dave Marin.
Marin called California's sanctuary policies "misguided" and implored state officials and advocates "to take a hard look at the reality, and potential consequences" of harboring such "egregious criminal offenders."
According to ICE, the agency arrested individuals with more than 1,900 convictions and charges for homicide, 1,800 for kidnapping, 12,000 sex offenses, 5,000 sexual assaults, 45,000 assaults, 67,000 crimes involving drugs, 10,000 weapons offenses, and 74,000 DUIs in the fiscal year 2019.