President Joe Biden’s so-called “sanctuary country” orders ensured that an illegal alien, wanted for rape in the sanctuary state of Oregon and already ordered deported from the United States, was not immediately taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
Juan Jose-Sebastian, a 26-year-old illegal alien from Guatemala, first arrived at the United States-Mexico border in November 2015 as an Unaccompanied Alien Child (UAC) and was subsequently released into the United States interior.
In July 2019, a federal immigration judge ordered Jose-Sebastian deported from the United States, but ICE failed to deport him. At a later date, Jose-Sebastian was charged in Washington County, Oregon, on three counts of rape and sexual assault.
Last month, Jose-Sebastian was arrested in Martin County, Florida, for driving without a license. Initially, ICE officials refused to take custody of Jose-Sebastian because he is not considered a priority for deportation under Biden’s sanctuary country orders.
Likewise, Washington County officials refused to extradite Jose-Sebastian back to Oregon to face the rape charges against him. As a result, Martin County was forced to release Jose-Sebastian from jail.
“I had no more legal authority to hold onto the suspect … when my corrections deputy sent word over that ICE said they don’t have bed space, I was absolutely shocked,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told WPBF 25 News.
Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) quickly intervened in the case, spurring ICE officials to request custody of Jose-Sebastian and claiming they were not aware of the rape charges against him in Washington County.
“How stupid is this? This illegal immigrant was supposed to be deported, but that wasn’t good enough for ICE to hold him, even though ICE was told he had a warrant for sexual assault,” Mast told WPBF 25 News. “The Biden administration continues to prioritize illegals over Americans.”
ICE officials worked with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office to take Jose-Sebastian into custody on March 2. He will remain in federal custody while he awaits deportation.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
