Source: Breitbart | VIEW ORIGINAL POST ==>
A report from ABC7 in Chicago reported that a magistrate judge ordered the release of a Venezuelan man who was arrested in a targeted enforcement operation over the weekend.
Over the weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers, along with other federal agencies, carried out a targeted enforcement operation, Breitbart News reported. The actions were overseen by top officials of the Trump administration, including Border Czar Tom Homan.
According to the report from ABC7, law enforcement officials placed Edward Martinez-Cermeno, 24, into custody on Sunday for illegally entering the United States near Eagle Pass, Texas in 2023.
The article states that Martinez-Cermeno, a Venezuelan national, made his way to Chicago and lived with his girlfriend’s parents.
Martinez-Cermeno appeared before a judge in Chicago on Tuesday. The article does not identify the court or judge who heard the matter. Breitbart Texas contacted ICE for additional information about the case and the court.
The judge reportedly ordered ICE to release the Venezuelan man from custody, saying that immigration officials did not have the “legal paperwork necessary for detaining and deporting him.”
Martinez-Cermeno has a pending criminal charge after Chicago police arrested him in January 2024 for felony retail theft, ABC7 reported. A court issued an arrest warrant for the man after he failed to appear for a court hearing.
The ABC7 report explains that this case was not mentioned during the magistrate hearing. The judge reportedly only addressed the federal charge of “improper entry by an alien.”
Federal prosecutors told the judge that ICE officers filed an immigration detainer against the defendant. The prosecutor told the judge that ICE would likely take Martinez-Cermeno into custody if he were released.
The judge allegedly responded, saying this would be “legally unacceptable,” explaining that ICE did not have a “proper judicial warrant” to detain him. The judge said the detainer is only a “civil request.”
In January 2024, Breitbart News reported on a surge of retail thefts in the Chicago area. Many of the arrested illegal aliens were identified as Venezuelan nationals.
Martinez-Cermeno was scheduled to be released on Tuesday night. It is not clear what happened after that point.
Breitbart Texas contacted ICE officials for an update on this case. An immediate response was not available.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
