ICE says PG County released two men despite detainers, one an alleged gang member

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is once again taking aim at Maryland’s immigration policies.

Federal authorities announced the arrest of two undocumented immigrants, who they say, were released from the Prince George’s County Detention Center, despite ICE detainers.

According to ICE, 28-year-old Yeferson Canamo-Jordan, a Venezuelan national, and 23-year-old Felipe Fernando Reymundo, a Guatemalan national, both have prior records.

They say over the last year and a half, Reymundo has faced charges for arson, malicious destruction of property, trespassing and motor vehicle theft. The agency also says Canamo-Jordan was recently charged with assault and is a suspected member of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that has expanded into an international criminal organization.

FOX45 reached out to the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office to verify the underlying criminal cases. A spokesperson said the office could neither confirm nor deny whether those arrests were ever made.

ICE officials say they were both arrested by federal agents last month in targeted traffic stops, rather than inside a secure detention facility. They go on to say these cases underscore the agency’s concerns about a lack of cooperation impacting public safety.

“By choosing not to honor ICE detainers, county jails give us no option but to conduct more arrests in the community rather than in the safe and controlled environment of a jail,” ICE said in a statement.

Prince George’s County has long had sanctuary policies in place barring any local cooperation between ICE and its jails. This year, similar restrictions took effect state-wide, with lawmakers passing the Community Trust Act.

While supporters say the new law helps build trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement, republicans continue pointing to cases like these, arguing it makes Maryland less safe.

“I just cannot understand why they are protecting criminals,” said Delegate Kathy Szeliga, “These two gentlemen have a rap sheet on each of them. Why would Prince George’s County not gladly turn them over to ICE?”

That debate has intensified in recent weeks. Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the State of Maryland, arguing the Community Trust Act unlawfully interferes with federal immigration enforcement. Several Maryland sheriffs have also filed legal challenges to the law.

Meanwhile, ICE maintains that declining to honor immigration detainers does not prevent arrests, but instead shifts them from correctional facilities into neighborhoods.