This is yet another tragic example of how sanctuary policies jeopardize public safety. A 27-year-old illegal alien went on a violent rampage last week, stealing a highway administration truck and crashing into over a dozen vehicles while fleeing police in Montgomery County, MD.
The suspect, Flavio Cesar Lanuza, is a Nicaraguan national who gave false information when detained at the border. He had no business being in Maryland in the first place. But thanks to Montgomery County’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, he was out on the streets putting lives at risk.
ICE properly lodged a detainer request for Lanuza, but we know it will be ignored. That’s because Montgomery County leaders have taken a political stance to obstruct immigration enforcement, even for dangerous criminals. So far this fiscal year, they have refused to comply with a shocking 119 ICE detainer requests.
Organizations like FAIR are right to call for cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions in cases like this. When public safety is threatened, local authorities have a duty to keep dangerous illegal immigrants off the streets.
But Democrat-run Montgomery County is more concerned with protecting illegal immigrants than protecting its own residents. This preventable crime spree is the latest example of how their reckless sanctuary policy produces innocent victims.
Until they start honoring detainers and working with ICE, we can expect more Americans to be injured by illegal immigrants who never should have been here. The people of Montgomery County deserve leaders who put citizens first.