This week, officials said that a Guatemalan illegal immigrant who is now being charged in Florida with kidnapping and sexual attack of a child was allowed to come back to the U.S. with a court date set for 2027.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office said that Marvin Perez Lopez, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested on Saturday for sexual abuse and kidnapping a child under 13 years old.
Detectives found out that he came to the U.S. in January after entering through Mexico and surrendering to Border Patrol. From what the police say, he was given a court date in 2027 and let into the U.S.
The office said that he is being held in the county jail without bond right now.
A girl aged 11 is said to have been grabbed by Perez Lopez and forced into his van, according to the police report seen by CBS 12. According to sheriff’s officers, the girl’s mother saw them and began banging on the door. The suspect then jumped out of the van and ran away.
When deputies went to Perez Lopez’s apartment, he is said to have run into an alley and was finally caught.
“Look at this Guatemalan man who came into the U.S. illegally. He was caught at the border, let go, and then made his way to South Florida.” He now holds an 11-year-old girl against her will and sexually assaults her, which is a crime, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told the news source.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement that Perez Lopez was caught by Border Patrol on January 19. He was given a notice to appear and was released on his own recognizance. A spokesperson for ICE ERO said that since his arrest on May 5, agents have put a hold on him. An ICE detainer asks that the agency be contacted before a suspected illegal immigrant is freed by local police and that the person be held until ICE can take custody of them and start the deportation process.
The arrest comes at a time when the southern border is still in a state of emergency. The release of migrants into the interior of the United States is still a major political problem in the country.
Republicans say the problem is because of the policies of the Biden administration, saying it has “open border” policies and is rolling back policies that worked well under Trump.
It is said by the Biden administration that it needs more money and complete immigration reform from Congress to fix a “broken” system and deal with the ongoing crisis. It has also talked about steps it has taken to cut down on immigration wait times, such as a rule that would let asylum workers decide on asylum cases. It wants Congress to pass a bill from the Senate that was introduced earlier this year and has support from both parties. It says this bill will allow it to pay for border security, which includes faster removal. Conservatives, on the other hand, say that the law would make the already high rates of illegal immigrants official.
At the same time, state and federal police continue to arrest convicted or suspected child sex offenders who crossed the line without permission. Last week, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said that agents caught three illegal immigrants coming across the border in Texas. These immigrants had previous felony charges for “Indecency with child sexual contact.”
