Federal agents arrested a previously convicted gang member who was in the country illegally and received protection from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

Agents with U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed to Breitbart Texas the arrest in Austin of 33-year-old Julio Cesar Mendoza Caballero, a known member of the Sureños 13 street gang, previously convicted for the theft of firearms and deported four times. Mendoza is currently facing a felony charge of illegal re-entry.

One month before his capture, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office released Mendoza after he was arrested on an unrelated charge. Even though ICE filed an immigration detainer with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, jailers released the illegal alien.

According to ICE, an immigration detainer is a legal request and an administrative warrant where it asks another agency to hold an illegal immigrant for up to 48 hours so federal agents can take that individual for prosecution or deportation purposes.

Mendoza’s criminal history began in 2008 when he was convicted in Hopkins County on a state charge connected to the theft of a firearm. Since his first arrest, federal authorities have deported Mendoza four separate times. His most recent deportation took place in 2013 after another conviction on felony illegal re-entry charges.

Under the leadership of Sheriff Sally Hernandez, Travis County has a history of ignoring detainers and challenging the federal government in immigration matters, Breitbart Texas reported. From January 28 to February 3, 2017, Hernandez oversaw the release of 142 criminal illegal aliens from her jail, despite immigration detainers filed beforehand, Breitbart Texas reported.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.