Law enforcement officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week arrested a 39-year-old Salvadoran man in Ellicott City, Maryland, who had previously been convicted of sexually abusing a minor. Luis Portillo-Henriquez illegally entered the United States before being convicted in August for repeatedly raping and assaulting a 14-year-old relative.

Despite facing a 25-year prison sentence, a Baltimore County judge reduced Portillo-Henriquez’s term to less than two years, according to ICE. Matthew Elliston, Field Office Director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Baltimore, stated, “He represented a significant threat to the children of our Maryland neighborhoods. Our office continues to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing the most egregious non-citizen offenders from our communities.”

In addition to the sexual abuse conviction, Portillo-Henriquez has multiple arrests for driving under the influence, traffic violations, driving without a license, and reckless lane changes.

Last month, ICE’s Baltimore unit also arrested a Dominican Republic citizen wanted for manslaughter charges in his home country. The individual was charged with injury causing death in 2022 and had fled to Maryland, posing a “significant threat” to local communities, according to Elliston.

Since October, the Enforcement and Removal Operations team in Baltimore has made over 270 arrests. Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, now running for U.S. Senate, criticized the immigration crisis, stating, “This is a humanitarian catastrophe that is harming our communities and wreaking havoc across the country. Every day Washington lets this crisis continue without bipartisan action, they are failing the American people.”