ICE-ERO Baltimore Fugitive Operations agents arrested and removed 19-year-old Guatemalan national Henry Argueta-Tobar, who was illegally in the country and convicted of raping a Maryland resident.

From The Center Square

By Bethany Blankley

Columbian arms trafficker arrested in college town of College Park, Maryland

After illegally entering the country at the southwest border and being released by Border Patrol agents, violent criminals continue to be arrested thousands of miles north near Baltimore.

One of them was a 19-year-old Guatemalan national in the country illegally convicted of raping a Maryland resident.

Henry Argueta-Tobar illegally entered the country in El Paso, Texas, on May 21, 2019, as an unaccompanied minor. Under the Trump and other administrations, federal policy is to release into the country those claiming to be minors. Border Patrol agents transferred his custody to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which released him “on an order of recognizance.”

By Dec. 23, 2023, he was arrested by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland and charged with rape in the second degree. ICE lodged a detainer request with the Charles County Detention Center in La Plata, Maryland, which refused to comply and instead released him.

In February, a federal judge ordered him to be removed to Guatemala. In July, a Charles County court convicted him of rape and sentenced him to 20 years in prison but then suspended all but 190 days of his prison sentence.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Baltimore Fugitive Operations agents then arrested him in Waldorf, Maryland.

“After unlawfully entering our country, Henry Argueta-Tobar made his way to Maryland and victimized one of our residents,” ICE ERO Baltimore acting Deputy Field Office Director Vernon Liggins said. “We could not allow him to continue to threaten our communities.”

His case represents a common pattern The Center Square has reported: ICE lodges an immigration detainer with a local jurisdiction, which denies the request and releases the offender. Not soon after, another jurisdiction arrests the offender for allegedly committing another crime. The pattern continues until ICE detains and removes the offender.

Last month, ICE-ERO Baltimore agents also apprehended a validated leader of the Las Colinas criminal organization based in Santa Marta, Colombia. The 29-year-old fugitive was wanted by Columbian authorities on homicide, arms trafficking and aggravated theft charges. He was hiding out in a residence in College Park, Maryland, home to the University of Maryland, with an undergraduate and graduate enrollment of over 40,000.

The Columbian fugitive “attempted to hide from justice in Maryland, and we simply cannot allow that to happen,” Liggins said. “Our officers are the best in the world at finding people who don’t want to be found, and we will not allow our Maryland communities to become safe havens for the world’s bad actors.”

He illegally entered the U.S. near San Ysidro, California, and was apprehended by Border Patrol agents on Sept. 14, 2023. Instead of vetting and identifying him as a wanted arms trafficker, he was given a notice to appear before an immigration judge and transferred into ICE-ERO San Diego custody. Instead of vetting and identifying him as a wanted arms trafficker, ICE agents released him “on recognizance.”

Colombian authorities were “actively seeking custody of the fugitive, citing charges of arms trafficking, aggravated theft and homicide,” ICE said.

It would take 10 months for ICE-ERO Baltimore agents to learn that he was illegally living in Maryland. He was arrested on July 31 “at his residence in College Park” and remains in ICE custody.

ICE-ERO Baltimore agents also recently arrested a Salvadoran who fled to the U.S. to avoid a prison sentence “stemming from his conviction for attempted aggravated femicide and culpable injury.” The 57-year-old Salvadoran fugitive was arrested June 20 near his residence in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He remains in ICE custody.

His criminal record predates his illegal entry into the U.S. He was arrested and charged by Salvadoran authorities in February 2022, convicted by a court in June 2023 and sentenced to 21 years in prison. He then fled the country and illegally entered the U.S. near Rio Grande, Texas. He was then arrested by Border Patrol agents on July 1, 2023, and transferred into ICE. Roughly one month later, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services gave him a notice to appear before an immigration judge and ICE released him.

Due to a failed vetting system, Border Patrol, ICE and USCIS “had no knowledge of the Salvadoran national’s conviction at the time of their interactions with him,” ICE claims. It would take another year for ICE agents to learn of his whereabouts in Maryland.

In another case, Border Patrol agents arrested a Columbian fugitive near San Luis, Arizona, after he illegally entered the U.S. and also released him. He had a criminal record: arrested and charged with attempted aggravated homicide and sentenced to 17 years in prison. He also fled to the U.S. to avoid going to prison.

Instead of being vetted and processed for removal, he was enrolled in a Biden-Harris “Alternatives to Detention” program. Within less than a month, he violated the program terms and was removed from the country in December 2023. He illegally reentered at an unknown date, time and location, avoiding capture as one of at least two million gotaways under the Biden-Harris administration. In June, ICE agents became aware that he was illegally living in Laurel, Maryland, and arrested him. He remains in ICE custody.

An extensive pattern exists for similar ICE arrests nationwide.