ICE Criticizes Middlesex County Jail For Releasing Murder Suspect

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continue to attack the Middlesex County jail for not complying with ICE detainer holds, saying on Friday that New Jersey resident Luis Perez — now wanted for allegedly killing three people in a Missouri shooting spree — was held at the Middlesex County jail last year, but released.

Middlesex County officials acknowledged that yes, they specifically chose not to hold Perez when ICE asked them to. But they also fired back that ICE had 51 days to come and collect him with an order from a federal judge, which they failed to obtain.

“Yet again, an ICE detainer was ignored and a dangerous criminal alien was released to the streets and is now charged with killing three people,” said ICE Acting Executive Associate Director Corey Price on Friday.

The Middlesex County jail has a policy, which has been in effect for about a year now, of not complying with ICE detainer requests unless the subject has been convicted of a first- or second-degree crime. It's a controversial policy that has led some to describe Middlesex County as a "sanctuary county."

"ICE officials chose to do nothing, which places all responsibility of Mr. Perez’s actions squarely upon ICE," a spokeswoman for the Middlesex County Board of Elected Freeholders responded in a statement.

Perez, 23, is from Mexico and was living illegally in the U.S., specifically here in Middlesex County, New Jersey. He was arrested in December of last year on domestic violence charges and was held at the Middlesex County jail, located off Rt. 130 in North Brunswick.

As he was here illegally, ICE issued a detainer request that he be held, and also requested that the federal government be notified before he was released from the county jail. ICE routinely, and increasingly under the Trump administration, makes such "courtesy holds" for inmates at county jails all across the country.

But as Patch has reported for months now, the Middlesex County jail does not comply with courtesy holds, unless the detainee has previously been convicted of a first- or second-degree offense. A first- or second-degree offense consists of the most serious crimes, such as murder, drug distribution, carjacking and sex assault and a detainee must have been convicted — and not simply be a suspect — to be released.

This was a policy voted on and approved in June of 2017 by the Middlesex County Board of elected Freeholders, which oversee jail operations.

Middlesex County is the first — and so far, only — county in New Jersey to refuse such requests, although the city of Newark has similarly ignored ICE detainer holds.

According to John Tsoukaris, ICE field director in Newark, the Middlesex County jail ignored the detainer and released Perez into the community, without notifying ICE. Perez was released from the North Brunswick jail in February of 2018. As Patch reported, a warrant was issued anew last Tuesday for his arrest in the murder of three people in Springfield, Missouri. The people he allegedly shot to death are thought to be his former roommates.

“Had ICE’s detainer request in December 2017 been honored by Middlesex County Jail, Luis Rodrigo Perez would have been placed in deportation proceedings and likely sent home to his country – and three innocent people might be alive today," said ICE director Price. "It is past time that localities realize the perils of dangerous sanctuary policies and resume their primary goal of protecting their residents.”

“This tragedy might have been avoided had it not been for the reckless policy required of the Middlesex County Jail by their county officials,” added Tsoukaris.

Speaking through a county spokeswoman, Middlesex released a statement late Friday night, defending their decision. Officials said they are trying to protect the county from being sued for false imprisonment if the inmate is acquitted of the charges against them, but was turned over to immigration for deportation anyway. They also argue ICE should obtain an order from a federal judge if they want an inmate held.

That's a procedural "may-I" step ICE rarely bothers to take, Middlesex officials say.

"ICE has the legal authority and the resources to secure such orders from a federal judge with regard to any inmate in the County’s custody it seeks to detain or deport but has chosen not to seek such orders," said Middlesex County in a statement. "In the instance of Luis Perez, ICE was advised on Dec. 14, 2017 that the County would not honor a detainer request that was made that day, because the criteria of having previously been convicted of a first- or second-degree offense had not been met."

"Luis Perez then remained in custody for an additional 51 days where ICE took no action whatsoever, even though they had every right and ability to do so and request an order of deportation from a federal judge. This order would have authorized Middlesex County to turn over custody of Mr. Perez," they continued. "Instead ICE officials chose to do nothing, which places all responsibility of Mr. Perez’s actions squarely upon ICE."

ICE and Republican elected officials in New Jersey, such as former Lt. Gov. and gubernatorial candidate Kim Guadagno, have called Middlesex County "a sanctuary county" for this very reason.

ICE detainer holds skyrocket in New Jersey under Trump

County jails in New Jersey, a state with a high number of undocumented residents, have been particularly affected by President Trump's illegal immigration crackdown.

In 2017, ICE issued an incredible 87.5 percent more detainer requests in New Jersey than in 2016, according to a study released this week by liberal government watchdog New Jersey Policy Perspective. That is more than double the national rate of 40 percent.

While ICE detainer requests ask local law enforcement to hold immigrants for up to 48 hours after their release date, the average "ICE hold" in reality in New Jersey is 24 days.

Immigration arrests in New Jersey have also increased by 43 percent from 2016 to 2017.

The Middlesex County Board of Freeholders, who are nearly all Democrats, and many of whom won re-election earlier this month, are simply trying to stand up to Trump using whatever governmental authority they can, immigration advocates say.

"Middlesex County chose not to comply with the detainer holds because they are illegal," local Highland Park immigration rights advocate Ellen Whitt told Patch last year. "If ICE wants to arrest someone, they can issue a warrant for their arrest. But they would rather send a fax to local jails, asking them to simply hold someone until they get around to picking them up. It violates everyone's Fourth Amendment rights."

Neighboring Monmouth County jail prides itself on their compliance with ICE courtesy holds, for example. But such courtesy holds have been criticized by immigration advocates and leading Democrats as potentially unconstitutional, and violate the detainee's Fourth Amendment rights (the right against unreasonable search and seizure).

But there have been other cases where ICE detainers were not honored at the Middlesex County jail, and those who were released went on to commit serious crimes. In fact, just this past summer, ICE picked up 37 illegal aliens in Middlesex County, 16 of which had previously been held at the county jail and released. Those included a Mexican national wanted by Perth Amboy police for murder, a 21-year-old citizen of Turkey wanted in South Brunswick for burglary and a Honduran citizen wanted in New Brunswick for aggravated assault and weapons possession.

"In this most recent case, Perez had a violent history, but despite that, the detainer was not honored," said Tsoukaris, ICE's Newark field director. "We hope that this tragic turn of events forces Middlesex to reconsider its policy and that the local elected officials stop protecting criminal aliens.”

Past Patch reporting on this issue:

Middlesex County: Why We Don't Comply With ICE Courtesy Holds (July 18, 2018)

ICE Arrests 37 Immigrants In 'Sanctuary' Middlesex County (July 16, 2018)

ICE Arrests 36 In Middlesex County, All Just Released From County Jail(Oct. 24, 2017)

Greene County, Mo. Sheriff's Office photo