An illegal immigrant released into the United States from the southern border has been accused of murdering an 18-year-old girl from El Salvador in Montgomery County, Maryland, a sanctuary county.
Gerber Luis Sanchez Centeno, a 23-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was arrested last week by Montgomery County police. Charged on a first-degree murder charge.
According to police and the victim's family, Centeno and 18-year-old Dania Cruz Mejia had been in a relationship for two years before coming to the United States.
Police say Centeno killed Cruz-Mejia after an argument with him on September 18. Two days later, Centeno was arrested on suspicion of murder for Cruz-Mejia. He is being held without bail in the Montgomery County Jail.
Cruz Mejia arrived in the United States earlier this year. Confirmed Fox News reported that Centeno crossed the southern border on June 2 and was arrested by Border Patrol agents near Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
On the same day, Centeno was released from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody into the United States, placed in an Alternative to Detention (ATD) program fitted with a GPS ankle monitor. At the time Centeno crossed the border, federal data showed show DHS has thousands of available detention beds and the agency could have held him there.
By early August, Centeno had absconded from the ATD program, resulting in DHS deregistering him. DHS, under the direction of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, is increasingly ending ATD surveillance of migrants just weeks after they were placed under it.
Two bills are under consideration in the House and Senate that would address the Department of Homeland Security's willingness to release large numbers of migrants into American communities.
In May, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Rep. Byron Donald (R-FL) introduced the “ATD Reform Act,” which would require the Department of Homeland Security to use all available ICE detention space to hold immigrants. Only once that space has been used can DHS place immigrants in ATD. The immigrants would then be subject to GPS monitoring throughout their trial.
Similarly, Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) Introduced The Deportation Accountability Act would allow federal immigration judges to order the deportation of immigrants who violate the terms of their release from Department of Homeland Security custody.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter. here.
