Prince George’s County Maryland, a sanctuary county that has boated “protecting” illegal aliens, has admitted it ignored a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer and released an illegal alien with connection to the Salvadoran gang, MS-13. Joel Ernesto Escobar, age 17, had been accused of attempted murder but convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery in 2018 but released, has been implicated in a gang-related killing in April 2019.
Andrew Cephas with the PG County corrections department said Wednesday, May 22, that they had released Escobar. Cephas retracted his statement from Tuesday when he said that the department transferred custody of the teen to the state, and when he also claimed that the county notifies ICE of impending releases.
On Wednesday he admitted that PG County does NOT notify ICE except for the most severe crimes. However, incredibly, PG County did not consider Escobar’s charged with attempted murder in 2018 severe enough to make him a priority for the county to turn over for deportation.
Because of PG County’s sanctuary policy, Escobar was on the streets in April when police say he and two other teens associated with MS-13 killed a 14-year-old girl who they feared would snitch about a gang robbery.
These sanctuary policies endanger the community in general, but Hispanic communities in particular. Latino illegal alien criminals hide in Hispanic communities among other Hispanics, where police cannot and will not ask about their immigration status if detained.
The sanctuary policy constraints also hamper local and federal law enforcement. Illegal aliens with no or fake identifications can escape detection when there is no coordination with immigration officials.
PG County and other sanctuary communities must NOT be allowed to pick and choose what laws to obey or disobey. They must protect all citizens from illegal aliens, from particularly foreign criminals.