MoreThanTheCurve.com, AroundAmbler.com, and GlensideLocal.com all reported on August 4th on the statement released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) criticizing Montgomery County for releasing a man in the country illegally who had been charged with a series of child sex crimes.
While ICE did have a detainer on the man, the county released him after he made bail under a recently implemented policy that doesn’t honor a detainer. Montgomery County would only detain the man if ICE had a judicial warrant. You can find more details on what the man was charged with and ICE’s position on the issue in the original article.
While preparing that article, the three county commissioners were offered a chance to comment on ICE’s criticism. That email was sent on August 2nd at 7:01 a.m. We did not receive a response and published the article on August 3rd at 8:07 p.m., more than a full day later.
Following the article’s publication, we received the following statement on August 4th at 3:24 p.m. from the county’s communications office.
“The Montgomery County Correctional Facility, like other neighboring counties, requires all jurisdictions, including the federal government, to provide a judicial warrant before it holds people solely for transfer to another agency or jurisdiction. This preserves the system of checks and balances that is the foundation of our democracy.”
Essentially, that statement is from the two Democrats on the board of commissioners, Neil Makhija (D, chair), and Jamila Winder (D, co-chair). The lone Republican offered a separate statement in the comments below the article on Facebook.
From Commissioner Tom DiBello (R):
“I have been very clear regarding my position. I stand with all law enforcement as well as I support the enforcement of all laws. I don’t support putting road blocks or obstacles in the way of the enforcement of the laws.”
The man in question was taken into custody by ICE following his release by Montgomery County and his awaiting removal proceedings.
Photos: The three commissioners speaking at a June 30th event, Montgomery County