Federal officials are threatening to prosecute Tompkins County law enforcers for not honoring a federal warrant for a Mexican citizen it sought to arrest, but Tompkins County officials said they obeyed state law and county policy and federal officials should have been at the jail when the man was released.
Jesus Romero-Hernandez, 27, was charged Jan. 8 in a federal criminal complaint with illegally reentering the United States after being removed previously, the U.S. Justice Department said. He was being held in the Tompkins County jail pending resolution of an assault charge. When that case was resolved Tuesday with a guilty plea to third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and a sentence of time served, the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office released him, before the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Enforcement and Removal Operations could pick him up.
“The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office in Ithaca, N.Y., a self-described sanctuary city, appears to have failed to honor a valid federal arrest warrant for a criminal alien with an assault conviction,” said acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove in a statement. “Despite the warrant, a defendant with no legal status and a history of violence was released into the community. Federal agents risked their safety and pursued the defendant in unsafe conditions.”
However, Tompkins County responded in its own release.
“The sheriff and his staff acted consistently with state law and judicial decisions, county policy, guidance of the New York Attorney General’s Office, and guidance of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association. There was no interference with federal immigration enforcement efforts,” Tompkins County officials said.
“DOJ’s assertion that the Tompkins County Sheriff did anything to put federal law enforcement officers in danger is false and offensive. The safety of all law enforcement is our top priority,” officials said. “In contrast, ICE knew exactly when the individual in question was going to be released and had every opportunity to come to the Tompkins County jail to obtain the individual in question without any need for a pursuit or other incident.”
“The Justice Department will not tolerate actions that endanger law enforcement and make their jobs harder than they already are, as they work to protect us all,” Bove said. “We will use every tool at our disposal to prevent sanctuary city policies from impeding and obstructing lawful federal operations designed to make America safe again and end the national crisis arising from four years of failed immigration policy.”
The Tompkins County Legislature adopted a policy in 2017 governing how it would handle federal information enforcement requests, including that it would not delay a person’s bail or release based solely on citizenship or immigration station, or for a federal agency’s immigration enforcement request.
“... No county department, officer, personnel or agent shall use county monies, facilities, property, equipment or personnel to investigate, enforce or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal program requiring registration of individuals on the basis of citizenship, immigration status, race, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, sex, victims of domestic violence, familial status, or religion,” the policy states.
Rumors have circulated across Dryden via social media that ICE was raiding local locations, but officials in the town and village of Dryden, and the Dryden Police Department, could not confirm them Friday.
