Federal authorities say they apprehended a Salvadoran gangbanger convicted of assault after authorities in a Massachusetts sanctuary jurisdiction ignored an immigration detainer and released him back on the street.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the recent arrest of 24-year-old Jose Luis Castro Jovel, an illegal alien and known MS-13 gang member, in Northampton, MA.
Castro Jovel illegally entered the U.S. at an unknown location and date.
He was later order removed by a Department of Justice immigration judge in March of 2023, but he remained in the country.
On Jan. 26, 2024, the Salvadoran was arrested by Northampton police for assault and battery of a family or household member.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston “lodged an immigration detainer against him with the Northampton District Court, which followed him to the Hampden County Correctional Center, where he was detained following his arraignment. However, the Northampton District Court released him Feb. 12 without notifying ERO Boston,” ICE explained in a press release.
Castro Jovel remained on the loose for nine months before ERO officers arrested him on a road in Northampton on November 12.
@EROBoston arrests MS-13 member convicted of assault after local authorities refuse to turn him over to ICE https://t.co/9JVuyy5XBY pic.twitter.com/pLVqNqsO8S
— ERO Boston (@EROBoston) November 26, 2024
“ERO Boston is committed to keeping our communities safe, and we do that in partnership with local law enforcement,” ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde said in a statement.
“But the bottom line is that immigration detainers are public safety tools. We use them to keep potentially dangerous noncitizens off our streets, and when officials don’t honor them, it puts our friends, families and neighbors at risk.”
Officials in Northampton, which has long been an established safe haven for illegal aliens, reaffirmed the city’s sanctuary status last week.
“We felt that it was important to reaffirm our values as a community… that has declared we are welcoming and that we want to support all who live here or work here or visit Northampton, regardless of their immigration status,” Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra stated in response to the reelection of President Donald Trump and his plans for mass deportations.
Authorities continue to catch dangerous foreign criminals illegally present in the U.S., many of whom have been previously released into the country by law enforcement agencies.
This article was originally published at InfoWars.com
