Luis Rodrigo Perez, a man who would one day kill three people and wound two others in Missouri, was released from the custody of the Middlesex County Jail in New Jersey earlier this year after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer was declined.



Now, why would the county of Middlesex refuse to cooperate with a federal agency such as ICE? Perhaps because Middlesex County subscribes to a sanctuary city policy.

Perez was supposed to face deportation proceedings after his arrest last year for a separate offence in New Jersey. Instead, he was released from ICE custody, whereafter they were kept uninformed about his whereabouts.

He meandered down to Missouri where, according to authorities, he allegedly shot and killed Steven Marler, 38, and Aaron Hampton, 23, and wounded two others. He then allegedly shot and killed 21 year old Sabrina Starr and faces eight other felony counts.

Tragically, it didn’t have to be this way.

An AP story notes that Middlesex County adopted a policy last year that honours ICE detainer requests IF the inmate has previously been convicted of a first or second degree offence or was the subject of a final order of deportation signed by a federal judge.

County officials say ICE was advised they wouldn’t honour their December detainer request for Perez because it didn’t meet the necessary criteria.

So, not only does the county embrace a non-cooperation policy with ICE but in refusing to take any responsibility, it seems they also have a non-accountability policy.

And before we Canadians get too smug, note that our three biggest cities – Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver – are sanctuary cities, and thanks to the virtue-signalling Trudeau Liberals, we essentially have open borders. What could possibly go wrong?