U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials were spotted at the Tompkins County Human Services Building Thursday, and arrested at least one person while in Ithaca, a sanctuary city.
This comes amid a nationwide surge of immigration raids following President Trump’s inauguration. Both Tompkins County and the city of Ithaca heavily limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement through “sanctuary” policies.
The Justice Department has also previously said that state and local officials who do not cooperate with intensifying immigration enforcement could be federally charged.
According to the Office of Public Affairs, federal law enforcement arrested Jose Romero-Hernandez, a Mexican citizen federally charged with reentering the country after prior removal, who was released from custody by the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office.
Now, the U.S. Attorneys’ Office for the Northern District of New York is “looking into” the circumstances of Romero-Hernandez’ release, according to a statement from the Office of Public Affairs.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove praised the “U.S. Attorney’s commitment to investigate these circumstances for potential prosecution.”
The federal Department of Public Affairs confirmed the presence of ICE, the U.S Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations officers in Ithaca. ICE did not immediately respond to WSKG’s requests for comment.
The Office of Public Affairs condemned the Tompkins County Sheriff’s office on Thursday for releasing Romero-Hernandez from county jail. He resolved third degree assault charges through a guilty plea and a sentence of time-served, according to the statement, and was released before ICE arrived to collect him to bring him to federal court.
"The Justice Department will not tolerate actions that endanger law enforcement and make their jobs harder than they already are, as they work to protect us all," Bove said.
Bove then took aim at area immigration legislation.
“We will use every tool at our disposal to prevent sanctuary city policies from impeding and obstructing lawful federal operations designed to make America safe again and end the national crisis arising from four years of failed immigration policy,” Bove said.
In a statement released Thursday, Tompkins County officials said that there was no interference with federal immigration enforcement.
"The safety of all law enforcement is our top priority. In contrast, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) knew exactly when the individual in question was going to be released and had every opportunity to come to the Tompkins County jail to obtain the individual in question without any need for a pursuit or other incident," the statement said.
They said the statement was released to “dispute the factual accuracy and innuendo contained in the press release from the United States Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs.”
In a prior statement, the county said officials were aware of the incident and pointed to the county’s “sanctuary” protections passed in 2017.
“The public should be assured that the County continues to adhere to its long-standing policies concerning interaction with federal immigration authorities,” the statement read.
The 2017 legislation limits county employees’, including law enforcement, cooperation with immigration enforcement. Similar laws are on the books in Ithaca, which also released a statement on the incident. In the statement, the city said Ithaca Police did not assist in any federal immigration enforcement activities.
The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the situation.
This is a developing story. We will provide updates as the situation unfolds.
This story has been updated to include additional statements from Tompkins County and additional context around Bove and immigration policy.