By Hannah Davis
FAIR
Ten days after he was released by the Middlesex County Superior Court in Massachusetts, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Maynor Francisco Hernandez-Rodas, a 38-year-old illegal alien from Guatemala charged with forcibly raping a child.
On June 14, Hernandez-Rodas was arrested by the Lowell Police Department and charged with nine counts of assault and battery of a child under 14. The suspect was arraigned in September, but despite the seriousness of the charges and the suspect’s illegal status, the Middlesex County Superior court allowed Hernandez-Rodas to post $10,000 in bail and released him with an ankle monitor – ignoring a request from ICE to hold Hernandez-Rodas so that ICE could take custody of him.
The Middlesex’s court’s decision to release Hernandez-Rodas was even more alarming because Hernandez-Rodas’ had a criminal record. In 2011, he was convicted of breaching the peace in Bridgeport, Connecticut, serving six months in prison. In 2016, he was convicted again for the same offense in Norwalk, Connecticut. Despite his illegal status and criminal history, Hernandez-Rodas was never deported.
Boston ERO acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde expressed frustration over the decision, stating, “Maynor Francisco Hernandez-Rodas stands accused of horrific crimes against a child. He represents a significant danger to the children of our community that we will no longer tolerate. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen threats from our New England neighborhoods.”
However, the court’s hands were tied by Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruling in the 2017 Lunn v. Commonwealth case that made Massachusetts a de facto sanctuary state. In its decision, SJC held that state law “provides no authority for Massachusetts court officers to arrest and hold an individual solely on the basis of a Federal civil immigration detainer, beyond the time that the individual would otherwise be entitled to be released from State custody.”
Governor Maura Healey, who was the Attorney General when the Lunn case was decided, defended the ruling by stating, “Massachusetts law protects our residents from illegal detention and prevents the federal government from forcing local law enforcement to make decisions contrary to the public safety interests of their communities. This decision allows local law enforcement to focus their resources on keeping people safe.”
However, Alfonso Aguilar, former head of the U.S. Office of Citizenship under President George W. Bush and current president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles (PCP), believes that the Lunn ruling follows a “radical ideology,” stating, “It happens a lot that the individual goes for release and then they go ahead and re-offend, which is preventable. How do you build trust with the community when you’re releasing to the community a violent criminal?”
Unfortunately, Hernandez-Rodas’ case is not an isolated incident. In March, the Boston ERO office arrested a 33-year-old illegal alien from Guatemala after he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old child. Like Hernandez-Rodas, he was a “gotaway” with prior arrests for strangulation and reckless child endangerment – charges the Lynn District Court dismissed. Four months later, he was arrested again for insurance violations, an obstructed license plate, and forgery, but the East Boston District Court also dismissed those charges. After his release, he sexually assaulted a child and faced multiple counts of indecent assault, battery, and attempted rape. Although the Boston ERO office lodged a detainer, the Massachusetts court system refused to comply. Eventually, immigration authorities located and arrested the alien, and he remains in ERO custody.
In response to the repeated release of violent illegal aliens, Massachusetts lawmakers have introduced legislation designed to equip local courts with tools to better protect citizens. According to the Boston Herald, the bill includes provisions for detention authorization, bail considerations, and judicial accountability. It allows law enforcement to detain removable aliens – albeit for only 12 hours – if they pose a public safety threat, defined as involvement in terrorism, gang activity, or felony convictions. The legislation also requires judges who deny ICE detainer requests to provide a written explanation. Additionally, when setting bail, judges must consider ICE detainers, allowing bail to be withheld if grounds for deportation exist. If enacted, this legislation could close loopholes that currently protect aliens from detention and deportation.
Hernandez-Rodas’ case illustrates the dangerous consequences of sanctuary policies that prioritize the interests of illegal aliens over public safety. Ignoring the detainer request and releasing criminals onto the streets endangers Massachusetts residents. And, by ignoring the detainer request, ICE agents are forced to arrest him in the community-at-large instead of taking him into custody in a safe location like the jail. In the end, the only people who benefit from sanctuary policies are the illegal aliens themselves.
