Seattle ICE Field Office Director: "Enough Is Enough"

SEATTLE — Thursday, Asher talked to media on the heels of a White House press conference where Acting ICE Director Matthew Albence and sheriffs from across the nation stood united to address the negative impacts “sanctuary policies” have on public safety in multiple American communities. However, Asher spoke close to home as she denounced local and state elected officials in the Pacific Northwest who refuse to cooperate with ICE by not allowing the federal agency to take custody of criminal aliens in a controlled environment, such as in another law enforcement agency.

“Washington State’s misguided sanctuary law has not made our communities safer… it has done quite the opposite,” Asher said. “In fact, sanctuary law has made our communities less safe, returning dangerous criminals to the street while tying the hands of local law enforcement officers who work to keep offenders off the streets.”

Seattle is one of several U.S. cities that have been increasingly highlighted in the ongoing national and international conversation about current and future U.S. immigration policy. Under federal law, ICE has the authority to lodge immigration detainers with law enforcement partners who have custody of individuals arrested on criminal charges and who ICE has probable cause to believe are removable aliens. The detainer form advises law enforcement agency to notify ICE in advance of release and to maintain custody of the alien for a short time, so that ICE can take custody of that person in a safe and secure setting upon release from that agency’s custody.

“We are not asking local agencies to enforce federal immigration law on ICE’s behalf,” Asher emphasized. “We are simply asking for a timely notification of an impending scheduled release of a person from jail or prison, so we have the opportunity to take custody of that person in a safe and secure manner.”

“Criminal aliens who break law after law in our country must face the full consequences of their decisions just as anyone in our country should,” she added.

During an enforcement surge effort the past five days, ICE Seattle arrested nearly 60 criminal aliens throughout the Pacific Northwest; 33 possessed criminal convictions, nine with pending criminal charges, but all were violators of U.S. immigration law for their illegal presence in the country.

According to a recent “Letter to the American Public” from ICE field office directors nationwide, ICE senior leaders have become increasingly concerned that certain sects of American communities do not fully understand that sanctuary laws do not benefit the community but only create safe havens for criminals.

“Non-cooperation policies, like sanctuary laws, too often result in preventable crimes of violence that unfortunately happen right here in the Pacific Northwest,” Asher said. “When violent criminal aliens are released back into our communities, they are once again free to commit offences.”

Prominently displayed on a projector screen and on several easels during the Thursday press conference were information graphics, displaying criminal aliens on whom ICE Seattle lodged immigration detainers with local law enforcement. However, the detainers were not honored, putting the communities they have sworn to serve and protect at risk:

• In September 2017, Jose Ramirez-Soto was arrested and booked into King County Jail (Washington) for child molestation charges. In 2018, he was convicted on a sexual assault charge (4th degree). ICE lodged a detainer, but Ramirez was released. Ramirez was again arrested and booked in the King County Jail in July 2019 for harassment and threats to kill. ICE again lodged a detainer, but he was released and remains at-large. He has been previously removed to Mexico twice. After Thursday’s press conference, Ramirez-Soto was arrested ERO officers and remains in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.
• Earlier this year Alejandro Maldonado-Hernandez was arrested by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office for the offenses of Manslaughter 2nd Degree, Assault 3rd Degree and Reckless Driving. ICE lodged a detainer with the Washington County Jail (WCJ). Ignoring the ICE detainer, the WCJ later released Maldonado into the community where he remains at-large, a fugitive criminal alien.
• ICE lodged a detainer with the Cowlitz County Jail on Zuqi Chen after he entered the jail’s custody to serve a sentence for Assault in the 2nd Degree. Following completion of his sentence, the Cowlitz County Jail released Chen to the street rather than protect the community by calling ICE to come take custody of Chen. In this case, ICE located and arrested Chen this week. Chen is now detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center pending immigration proceedings.
• Dariel De Los Santos was arrested for Rape of a Child, Unlawful Imprisonment, and Voyeurism. De Los Santos was convicted of Child Molestation in the 3rd degree and two counts of Assault in the 4th degree. ICE lodged a detainer on De Los Santos with the King County Jail. However, King County Jail released De Los Santos to the community after the completion of his sentence; free to seek further victims. Nevertheless, ICE successfully located and arrested De Los Santos in Bellevue, Washington and he is currently detained at Northwest ICE Processing Center going through immigration removal proceedings.

Asher commended her team in the Pacific Northwest and their cooperative law enforcement partners who tirelessly work to ensure the limitations of the sanctuary policies do not hinder the apprehension and removal of criminal aliens in the U.S.

ICE continues to focus its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. ICE conducts targeted immigration enforcement incompliance with federal law and agency policy, however the agency does not exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention, and if found removable by final order, removal from the United States.