Release of Suspected Illegal Immigrant Raises Controversy
A judge appointed by former President Joe Biden has released a suspected illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, who is the subject of a deportation order and an Interpol Red Notice related to a murder case in his home country. This news comes from the Department of Homeland Security.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose in Rhode Island ordered the release of Brian Rafael Gomez from the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Judge DuBose made this decision citing “continued illegal detention,” although ICE contended that Gomez should be held under mandatory detention due to the international arrest warrant for murder against him.
While the judge acknowledged that ICE had legal authority to detain immigrants caught at the border, she noted that this did not apply to Gomez, as he had been arrested by local police in the U.S.
According to a court order, DuBose concluded that Gomez is not subject to the mandatory detention mentioned by ICE and is, in fact, entitled to a bail hearing.
DHS noted that ICE is not allowed to rearrest Gomez based on the judge’s ruling.
Gomez was initially apprehended on April 4 in Worcester, Massachusetts, on assault and battery charges. After being granted $500 bail, he was arrested by ICE in Boston, as per DHS reports.
Though he is currently being held in Rhode Island, an immigration judge ordered his deportation on Tuesday.
DHS Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Lauren Biss criticized the ruling, labeling Gomez as a “criminal illegal alien” with an active international murder warrant. She remarked that this is another instance of an activist judge undermining efforts to remove criminal illegal immigrants from the U.S.
Biss asserted, “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to fight to remove criminal illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country.”
Gomez, who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, was apprehended and released by Border Patrol near Lukeville, Arizona. A criminal arrest warrant for him was later issued in the Dominican Republic on January 24, 2023, on suspicion of murder, and ICE has indicated that he is also the subject of an Interpol Red Notice.
