Carlos Morales-Ramirez of El Salvador, an illegal alien convicted of murdering a child in California, was released from Valley State Prison in Chowchilla despite a request that he be turned over to federal immigration agents, officials said in a statement Monday
44-year-old Morales-Ramirez had been serving time on charges of murder, assault on a child causing death and great bodily injury to a child causing death. ICE officials said his release defied their petition for him to be handed over to them to begin deportation proceedings.
“The request was not honored, and Carlos Morales-Ramirez was released onto the streets Dec. 4,” the agency said. California policy allows local law enforcement agencies to disregard detainer requests from immigration officials.
“State sanctuary laws grant law enforcement officials the discretion to cooperate with immigration authorities in instances where serious or violent crimes have been committed,” Dave Marin, director of the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Los Angeles, said in a statement. Marin slammed the sanctuary policies, claiming that they “continue to fail residents by allowing convicted criminals like Morales-Ramirez to walk free.”
“We are talking about the murder of a child — rather than working with our officers to ensure this convicted aggravated felon was safely handed over to ICE, he was released back into the community and our officers were forced to exhaust more time and resources relocating and re-arresting him,” Marin continued.
