Elrich Says County Will Tell ICE When Accused Rapists Are Released

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich says the county will notify federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when two illegal immigrants from El Salvador, accused of raping an 11-year-old girl, are released from custody.

Elrich issued the statement late Wednesday. The statement follows his “Promoting Community Trust” executive order in which Elrich outlined the county’s role in federal immigration matters.

The order prevents county employees from arresting anyone based on civil immigration warrants, detainers or Department of Homeland Security directives. The order says this is based on a Supreme Court decision.

The order says, “Immigration detainers, that are not accompanied by judicial warrants, are civil detainers for which the federal government bears sole responsibility.”

In his statement, Elrich said:

After determining that the suspects are undocumented immigrants, Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requested that the County notify them if and when the two men are scheduled to be released from custody for any reason. The County will do so. The new Promoting Community Trust Executive Order has not changed the County’s policy on cooperating with ICE requests for notification of the release of individuals charged with serious crimes. The County’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation will notify ICE if the suspects become eligible for release, but until then they will remain in our custody until the local legal process is complete.

Here’s the complete statement:

Recently, Montgomery County Police took into custody two suspects who are charged with raping an 11-year-old girl. This alleged crime is horrible, and I am confident that justice will be served in this case. After determining that the suspects are undocumented immigrants, Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requested that the County notify them if and when the two men are scheduled to be released from custody for any reason. The County will do so. The new Promoting Community Trust Executive Order has not changed the County’s policy on cooperating with ICE requests for notification of the release of individuals charged with serious crimes. The County’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation will notify ICE if the suspects become eligible for release, but until then they will remain in our custody until the local legal process is complete. Montgomery County is a welcoming community that values the diversity of communities that are made up of people from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and nations. We want the people of Montgomery County to know that our law enforcement and other support agencies are vigilant in enforcing local laws, rules, and regulations. We believe that being a welcoming community to the people who live and work here creates a stronger relationship between communities and our law enforcement agencies, which make our communities safer.

The two men charged are Mauricio Anto Barrera-Navidad, 29, and Carlos Ernesto Palacios-Amaya, 28. Barrera-Navidad is being held on $10,000 bail; Palacios-Amaya is being held without bail, both at the Montgomery County Detention Center, online court records say.

Through an email, ICE spokeswoman Justine Whelan said the agency had lodged a detainer July 25 with the Montgomery County Detention Center on Barrera-Navidad. She called him a Salvadoran national who is unlawfully present in the United States. He is subject to a final order of removal that an immigration judge issued in December 2016.

The same day, ICE also lodged a detainer with the detention center on Palacios-Amaya, another Salvadoran national. He is a repeat immigration violator, have been removed from the U.S. in 2014.

“Detainers serve as a legally-authorized request, upon which a law enforcement agency may rely, to continue to maintain custody of an alien for up to 48 hours so that ICE may assume custody for removal purposes,” Whelan wrote. “Pursuant to ICE policy, all ICE detainers are submitted with an accompanying administrative arrest warrant or warrant of removal depending upon the circumstances of the individual case.”

According to the statements of charges, both men met the victim through her brother, and the rapes occurred in Germantown.

Barrera-Navidad engaged in multiple forms of intercourse on July 21, 2018, the report says. He faces a single count of second-degree rape, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Palacios-Amaya engaged in several forms of intercourse with the victim starting in Sept. 11, 2018 through Oct. 21, 2018, according to the statement of charges.

A doctor examined the victim July 10, and the victim said that the defendant used his cell phone to record the two of them having sex, the charges state.

Palacios-Amaya has been charged with four counts of second-degree rape.

Here is Elrich’s “Promoting Community Trust” executive order: