U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed immigration detainers on two Mexicans and an Ecuadoran national who have been charged with sexually assaulting an “incapacitated and physically helpless” woman in New Jersey.

The Daily Voice in Rutherford reported that two of the defendants charged are Mexican citizens. Twenty-nine-year-old Rene Jimenez, and 25-year-old Emeterio Castelan, a dishwasher, and a kitchen helper, are roommates in an East Rutherford apartment. The Ecuadorian national, 20-year-old Luis Tenecela, lives in nearby Hackensack, New Jersey.

The New Jersey publication reported that Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said the trio were arrested after law enforcement officials in East Rutherford received a 911 call from the woman. The prosecutor said they assaulted the woman “while she was incapacitated and physically helpless.”

The foreign nationals have been charged with aggravated sexual assault on a victim while aided by an accomplice.

All three defendants are in the Bergen County jail.

ICE officials have placed detainers on the illegal aliens charged with the sexual assault. These detainers requested by federal officials ask local and state law enforcement departments to hold the criminal illegal alien suspects until they can be transferred into federal care.

As noted by the Daily Voice, federal control of these illegal alien defendants becomes difficult if they make bail or are otherwise released from jail, or if they are freed from the jail after a plea-bargain or trial on the merits.

New Jersey is a “sanctuary jurisdiction.” Democrat Senator Robert Menendez said in 2017, “I will do whatever I can in order to stop them,” referring to “Kate’s Law” that increases the penalties for criminal illegal aliens who re-enter the country. The bill also cut funding to sanctuary cities that harbor illegal aliens by refusing to comply with federal immigration laws.

ICE officers in New Jersey have been forced to arrest criminal aliens on the streets after they were released by Middlesex County, New Jersey. Breitbart Texas obtained a statement from ICE spokesman John Tsoukaris. The Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Newark field office director said, “As a nation, we must protect the integrity of our immigration system and the removal of illegal aliens, especially those with a criminal history, this is one of ICE’s top priorities.”

Tsoukaris explained, “ICE shares the county’s ultimate objective to protect public safety and national security while simultaneously preserving the critical community police bond. As such, county jails that fail to work with ICE put their communities at risk.”

Prospect Park and Jersey City in New Jersey were among the first in the state to officially declare sanctuary city status, reported North Jersey.com. Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah signed an executive order in February 2017 promising equal services and treatment to all residents even if they are not citizens of the country, it reported. Maplewood had already declared “sanctuary” city status in January. On March 6, Leonia adopted a resolution saying it was a “welcoming community.” Other New Jersey communities, including its two largest cities – Newark and Jersey City – “refuse to collaborate with federal authorities on efforts to enforce immigration laws.” The local media outlet also reported that East Orange, Princeton, Union City, and Rutgers University all “have some version of a sanctuary policy in place.”

ICE ERO officers arrested 113 criminal aliens in New Jersey during a five-day “enforcement surge” last June, reported Breitbart Texas. Officials reported 93 of the illegal aliens arrested had criminal convictions, and 87 percent of those arrested had felony convictions.

Nearby “sanctuary” New York City released nearly 180 criminal illegal aliens in just the first four months of 2017, Breitbart Texas reported last May. NYPD Police Commissioner James O’Neill was reported to say during a budget hearing, “We have complied with zero federal detainer requests this year.” He emphasized, “We strongly feel that it is not the role of a municipal police force to enforce federal immigration laws.”

Last October, ICE agents arrested three criminal aliens that had been released by New York City, reported Breitbart Texas. The city ignored federal immigration detainers on the Mexican, Ecuadorian, and Dominican nationals and released them. The Dominican national had multiple felony drug convictions and had been deported two times previously.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Gab, and Facebook.