ICE detaining and deporting those with pending criminal charges harms victims and the accused

When Boulder County Deputy District Attorney Christina Rinke found out that Jose Lopez-Gutierrez had been deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), she petitioned the district court in Boulder to revoke his bond and issue a warrant for his arrest should he return to the U.S. The DA’s office then started asking questions as to why it had not gotten prior notice regarding the deportation.

Lopez-Gutierrez, who had been living in Longmont, was arrested in May and charged with sexual assault of a child, after which he was released on a $20,000 bond. He showed up for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 12, with an arraignment scheduled for Nov. 1. But, as court documents filed by Rinke show, ICE arrested Lopez-Gutierrez on Sept. 23 and deported him on Sept. 30. Rinke and the DA’s office didn’t find out about the deportation until nine days after the fact.

“For the victim and the community, but also for the accused, the criminal justice system should be able to run its course before he was subjected to deportation,” says Boulder County DA Michael Dougherty. “Victims, witnesses and defendants should be able to come to the courthouse and ensure that justice is done in their cases. And here, this is a glaring failure to allow us to accomplish that goal for anyone, mostly because ICE failed to notify us.”

This is not the first time people facing criminal charges have been detained and/or deported before their cases are prosecuted. In fiscal year 2018 (October 2017-September 2018), ICE removed almost 23,000 immigrants with pending criminal charges, according to the agency’s data.

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