ICE Wanted to Release Sex Offender into Community

AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

Oregon didn't want to prosecute a man who committed rape in their state, and the federal government didn't want to detain him. Legally a Florida Sheriff was being forced to release him back onto the streets. Then he got DeSantis involved. 

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Governor Ron DeSantis fought back and convinced ICE to allow them to detain him. It took some doing, too. 

The story is grotesque, even though, so far, it has as happy an ending as it could. 

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. —

An undocumented man wanted in Oregon for rape is now in federal custody after the Martin County Sheriff’s Office says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initially declined to hold him.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office says they were legally required to release 26-year-old Juan Jose-Sebastian from jail, even though they knew he was wanted in Oregon for rape charges. After Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Rep. Brian Mast got involved, the sheriff’s office was given the legal authority to rearrest Jose-Sebastian.

ICE didn't want a rapist to be detained. What? Too much trouble? Not enough crimes have been committed yet? Perhaps a murder or two before a poor, helpless illegal alien has to face consequences...

God knows. These people are sick. 

And what is the deal with Oregon? Don't they care about giving a measure of justice to the victim in their state? I think we know that if the victim were of the right sort...perhaps transgender?...they would have extradited him. We know the score. 

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Jose-Sebastian, by the way, was supposed to have been deported back in 2019. 

Investigators say this all started over two weeks ago when deputies arrested Juan Jose-Sebastian, an undocumented Guatemalan immigrant for driving without a license. Before he was set to be released after serving his two-week sentence for driving without a license, the sheriff’s office learned Sebastian had a warrant out of Washington County, Oregon, for three counts of rape and sexual abuse.

On Friday, Sheriff Snyder learned ICE would not take custody of Jose-Sebastian and Washington County, Oregon would not extradite him.

Snyder said he was initially "taken back" when Washington County, Oregon authorities declined to extradite Sebastian.

"So of course we turned to ICE expecting they would come and get him and then they said they didn’t have bed space and then I was in checkmate," said Martin County Sheriff William Snyder. "I had no more legal authority to hold onto the suspect... When my corrections deputy sent word over that ICE said they don’t have bed space, I was absolutely shocked."

At that point, the sheriff’s office was legally required to release him and the sheriff alerted the public on social media that Jose-Sebastian was wanted on sexual assault charges.

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So, let's see. Deep Blue Oregon didn't want to prosecute a rapist because, well, it would be unfair to the "asylum seeker" who has every right to express his culture, I guess. Deep Blue Homeland Security, run by Secretary Mayorkas, didn't want to detain him because, well, he is an "asylum seeker" and is owed a rape or two I guess. 

So it takes a governor with some cajones to fight back. "Not in my state." 

So what does ICE have to say about it? They show no shame:

"ERO initially encountered Jose at the Martin County Sheriff’s Office Feb. 29, 2024, after his arrest for driving without a license and requested advanced notification of his release from custody, known as an immigration detainer. Initial record checks indicated he did not meet current enforcement priorities, so ERO lifted the detainer March 1, he was released from local custody and was ordered to report to the ERO Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program March 4, 2024. After his release, the warrants from Washington County, Oregon for rape in the third degree and sexual abuse in the second degree were discovered and ERO partnered with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office and arrested him March 2, 2024. Jose entered the U.S. on Nov. 23, 2015, was processed as an unaccompanied child and has been on the ERO non-detained docket. An immigration judge with the Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Jose’s removal to Guatemala July 24, 2019. He is currently in ICE ERO custody pending removal proceedings.

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Unbelievable. 

Actually not, in today's America, where you can get anything you want as long as you aren't here legally. Blue states and the Biden Administration will bend over backward for you. 

Just not American citizens. We don't count. Unless we are high enough up the intersectional ladder. 

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Ed Morrissey 12:40 PM | November 21, 2024
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