The infamous sanctuary county of Montgomery, Maryland has defied federal immigration authorities once more, this time releasing an accused rapist despite ICE’s requests to hold him, according to Fox News.
Despite being arrested for rape charges on June 18th, Rene Atilio Ramos-Hernandez was released on June 23rd by local authorities. Even though ICE sent a notice to Montgomery County officials requesting that Hernandez be held until federal authorities could arrive to take him into custody, local authorities only told ICE about his release after it had happened.
It is not the first time that Montgomery County has defied ICE in order to release a dangerous criminal who also happens to be an illegal. Their actions have drawn nationwide condemnation and widespread press coverage, with County Executive Marc Elrich (D-Md.) eventually reversing parts of the original executive order that declared Montgomery a sanctuary county. Despite this, some areas of the county are still under the control of anti-ICE officials who continue to defy federal authority, while at the same time threatening public safety.