“Recent News: US Commences Inquiry into Contentious Release of Detained Immigrant – Initial Significant Test for Sanctuary Cities”
By Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew GoudswardWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department announced on Thursday that it is investigating the release of an undocumented immigrant by a sheriff’s office in upstate New York. This incident marks the first instance of implementing a new policy aimed at state and local agencies that fail to adhere to President Donald Trump’s directives.The directive issued by the department last week instructed federal prosecutors to consider launching criminal investigations against state and local officials who obstruct federal immigration enforcement efforts, particularly targeting so-called “sanctuary cities.”The event transpired on a Wednesday in Ithaca, New York, a notably progressive city in New York’s Finger Lakes area. The individual involved was 27-year-old Mexican national Jesus Romero-Hernandez, who had been detained on an assault charge. According to federal prosecutors, the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office released Romero-Hernandez even though there was an outstanding federal arrest warrant against him for illegally reentering the U.S. following a prior deportation. Subsequently, Romero-Hernandez was re-apprehended by federal agents.”Yesterday, despite the existence of the warrant, a person without legal status and a history of violence was let back into the community,” stated Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.Bove expressed appreciation for the local U.S. attorney’s office’s commitment to investigating the circumstances potentially for prosecution. Meanwhile, Ithaca stated that its police department had followed all relevant city policies and had not participated in any immigration enforcement actions. The city’s statement did not directly address the specific case highlighted by the Justice Department.As of now, the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office could not be reached for immediate comment.Last week, Bove issued a memo across the department instructing federal prosecutors to look into state and local officials found to be “obstructing federal functions” related to immigration enforcement. Bove traveled to Chicago last Sunday to monitor a law enforcement operation involving agents from the Department of Homeland Security and various Justice Department units. A Justice Department official informed Reuters that part of Bove’s visit was to also evaluate the impact of sanctuary city policies on DHS and DOJ immigration enforcement measures.Since then, the department has reassigned over a dozen senior career attorneys, who typically remain in their roles regardless of political changes, to a newly established sanctuary cities working group. Most of these reassigned employees lack expertise in immigration law, according to a Justice Department official. The working group’s primary focus will be on identifying state and local regulations that impede federal immigration enforcement, gathering evidence on the ground, and evaluating the Trump administration’s policies regarding funding for sanctuary cities.(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Lincoln Feast.)
