Maryland County Releases Violent Immigrant Despite ICE Requests

A liberal county in Maryland has recently let an illegal immigrant go from prison, which has raised concerns from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agency made this announcement on Friday.

Rafael Aguilar, a Honduran man, was arrested on January 13. He had been convicted for stabbing someone in April 2025 and, despite a 10-year sentence, was released after just 141 days. He was given a suspended sentence, relying on compliance with his release terms, according to court records.

The local county did not respond to inquiries regarding this decision. Vernon Riggins, acting director of ICE’s Baltimore field office, voiced his concerns, stating that the county’s sanctuary policies compromise public safety by refusing to cooperate with federal agents.

Currently, Aguilar is held at ICE’s Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana as he awaits potential deportation. His release came on January 6, several months after ICE had requested his detention. A county spokesperson mentioned that they had informed ICE about Aguilar’s release and offered a brief window for them to act, but their policy required a criminal warrant for longer detention.

Interestingly, despite some Maryland law enforcement agencies’ cooperation with ICE, the state’s governor, Wes Moore, plans to sign a bill to ban such agreements post-passage through the Democratic-led legislature. Riggins remarked that such policies fail to protect law-abiding citizens who expect safety in their communities, reaffirming ICE’s commitment to address the situations that sanctuary jurisdictions overlook.