(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) So-called sanctuary jurisdictions may soon face legal consequences if they continue to hinder federal immigration operations, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove suggested on Thursday.
“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,” Bove wrote Thursday in a statement announcing the arrest of an illegal alien in Ithaca, New York.
Bove’s rebuke of sanctuary cities came after the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office failed to honor a federal arrest warrant for Jesus Romero-Hernandez, a 27-year-old Mexican national. He had been in local custody after pleading guilty to third-degree state assault charges.
The DOJ said that Romero-Hernandez faced additional federal charges in January 2024 for illegally reentering the U.S. after a prior removal.
Federal immigration authorities issued an arrest warrant for Romero-Hernandez after learning of his arrest in New York, but local law enforcement ignored it.
A violent illegal alien has been arrested by federal authorities in New York after being released by local authorities in a self-described sanctuary city.
The Justice Dept. will not tolerate actions that endanger law enforcement and American communities.https://t.co/MId1fNAnmj
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) January 30, 2025
Romero-Hernandez was released on Jan. 28 after being hit with a time-served sentence of time served. This forced federal agents to locate him in the streets of New York rather than inside a guarded facility.
“Yesterday, despite the warrant, a defendant with no legal status and a history of violence was released into the community,” Bove said, noting that the U.S. Marshals and Homeland Security Investigations assisted in the arrest. “Federal agents risked their safety and pursued the defendant in unsafe conditions.”
Bove added, “I applaud the U.S. Attorney’s commitment to investigate these circumstances for potential prosecution, and the efforts of the agents who were able to arrest the defendant under wholly avoidable circumstances.”
