Furor at DHS after NJ county expands sanctuary policies

The Department of Homeland Security is livid with a New Jersey county after it declared it would release illegal aliens from prison into the community instead of honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers.

Essex County, NJ's, Board of County Commissioners approved the resolution this month, prompting outrage from DHS.

“Sanctuary policies like this make New Jersey communities less safe,” acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “In Essex County, instead of notifying ICE law enforcement, sanctuary politicians will RELEASE criminals from jails into New Jersey communities. When sanctuary politicians refuse to cooperate with ICE law enforcement, they put the safety of the public and our officers at risk. It also requires us to have a larger presence to arrest criminals at large instead of in the controlled setting of a jail.”

ICE detainers are administrative flags that alert local authorities that an inmate is wanted for immigration proceedings or deportation. Authorities that honor those detainers notify the agency to pick up the inmate upon their release from local custody. Refusal to honor those detainers has become one of the leading sanctuary policies in left-leaning municipalities.

Essex County is in the northern portion of the state. It includes Newark and is adjacent to New York City. In a statement to Just the News, DHS highlighted some of the most dangerous illegal alien criminals ICE had apprehended in the county.

Carlos Humberto Perez-Soza of Honduras, for instance, was convicted of sexual assault.

Nazarjon Gayratjonovich Abdukahorov of Uzbekistan was convicted of enticing a child.

Carlos Capurro of Peru was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13 and of hindering apprehension or prosecution.

Johanns Cuadros-Almanza of Peru was convicted for aggravated criminal sexual contact.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.