Burlington County Ignored ICE Detainer Request, Feds Claim

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claims the Burlington County Jail released a man it requested to be held, delaying the man’s arrest by seven months.

ICE said it filed a detainer for 22-year-old Brazilian national Denner Dos Santos with the Burlington County Jail in July of last year, but the jail released Dos Santos soon after the detainer was filed.

It wasn’t until February that ICE officers arrested Dos Santos in Mount Holly. He remains in custody pending proceedings on the possibility of deportation.

“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," John Tsoukaris, ERO Newark field office director, said in the statement. “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.”

ICE makes detainer requests with local law enforcement when it wants a criminal suspect who is in the country illegally to be held so agents can pick him up and hold removal proceedings. The detainer ensures the suspect is held for 48 hours beyond the point when they would initially be released.

However, American Friends Service Committee Organizing and Advocacy Director Chia Chia Wang told nj.com the request isn’t legally binding.

“They are not the same as warrants or criminal detainers issued by judges,” Wang told the website. "County jails or local law enforcement do not have to hold them."

In fact, some facilities that have held suspects have been sued because the person turned out to be a legal resident, or because they were held for more than 48 hours, according to the report.

According to court documents, Dos Santos was originally charged with the sexual assault of a minor in Delran last March.

Patch file photo