The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on April 7 that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Carlos Corte-Corte, a three-time deported criminal illegal alien from Ecuador, following his release by local authorities in New York after he was charged with kidnapping and cruelty toward a child.
The case highlights ongoing concerns about the impact of sanctuary policies on public safety and federal immigration enforcement efforts. According to the Department of Homeland Security press release, ICE took the individual into custody on March 31 after local authorities in Suffolk County arrested him on March 28 for kidnapping the four-year-old girl from a laundromat while she was with her mother and for cruelty toward a child. Local police located the child at a nearby library, but sanctuary policies resulted in the suspect’s release from jail back into the community before federal officials could act on the detainer. The release also notes the individual’s history of illegal re-entry following three prior deportations. This sequence of events formed the basis for the federal announcement detailing the arrest and removal proceedings.
Suffolk County police responded to the kidnapping report in Patchogue and located the four-year-old victim safe at a nearby library shortly after the incident. The suspect was taken into local custody on charges of kidnapping and cruelty toward a child before his release under sanctuary policies. ICE New York’s Long Island Fugitive Operations Team later conducted a targeted arrest near the suspect’s residence. The case occurred in a community area known for family-oriented businesses, including laundromats, according to Suffolk County Police.
New York jurisdictions have released thousands of criminal illegal aliens into communities despite active ICE detainers as of December 1. These releases included individuals with records involving homicides, assaults, burglaries, robberies, drug offenses, weapons offenses, and sexual predatory offenses. As of the same date, 7,113 aliens in New York custody had active ICE detainers with similar serious criminal histories. Federal data show that sanctuary non-cooperation contributes to repeated offenses by removable aliens according to DHS.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security leads federal efforts to secure the nation’s borders and enforce immigration laws through its component agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE focuses on the identification, arrest, detention, and removal of individuals who violate immigration laws, with particular emphasis on those who pose threats to public safety, such as criminal aliens. The agency operates nationwide fugitive operations teams that target removable aliens with criminal convictions or charges according to DHS.
