U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Chicago arrested Luis Manuel Saucedo-Cardenas. The violent illegal alien felon and suspected former gang member was intentionally released by the Chicago Police Department. The troubling occurrence is repeating itself in multiple sanctuary jurisdictions across the country.
According to ICE, Saucedo-Cardenas, a 40-year-old criminal illegal alien from Mexico, has an extensive rap sheet that includes multiple arrests for assault, carjacking, controlled substance violations, and a prison stint for wire fraud. Saucedo-Cardenas, according to authorities, is a former member of the La Raza street gang. The gang primarily operates in the Chicago area but has been found operating in small numbers engaging in criminal enterprises in Florida, Georgia, and several parts of the western United States.
ICE previously removed Saucedo-Cardenas from the United States in 2022. According to ICE, a federal criminal arrest warrant was obtained for illegal re-entry into the United States for Saucedo-Cardenas and was confirmed by the Chicago Police Department, which had the criminal illegal alien in their custody at the time. Despite confirming their awareness of the existing warrant of arrest on May 1, ICE says the Chicago Police Department refused to transfer custody of Saucedo-Cardenas to ICE Chicago despite multiple requests.
According to ICE, operating under sanctuary policies enacted by politicians, the violent repeat offender was released back onto the streets of Chicago. Expressing frustration at the lack of cooperation with ICE by Chicago law enforcement authorities, ICE Chicago Acting Field Office Director Tammy Marich said, “The Chicago Police Department knowingly jeopardized the public’s safety by releasing a dangerous suspect with a federal criminal arrest warrant. Politics aside, there is no excuse for sanctuary politicians to threaten the well-being of the communities they purport to serve.”
According to ICE, the safest way to arrest criminal illegal aliens starts with lodging immigration detainers against them. An immigration detainer is a request from ICE that asks other law enforcement agencies, including jails, prisons, or other detention facilities, to notify ICE as early as possible before releasing a removable alien, or to hold the individual for up to 48 hours beyond normal release time so DHS may assume custody in accordance with federal immigration law.
The Chicago Police Department has a long history of failing to honor the detainers or to cooperate with ICE when an illegal alien is arrested for a suspected criminal act within the sanctuary city. The lack of cooperation can have devastating impacts on residents when offenders are released back into the community. As reported by Breitbart News’s John Binder, Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela, was arrested by the Chicago Police Department and charged with murdering Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old freshman at Loyola University, in a random attack on a pier at Tobey Prinz Beach on March 19.
Records show Medina-Medina was arrested after crossing the southwest border in 2023 and released to pursue asylum shortly afterward. Within months of arriving in Chicago, Medina-Medina was arrested by Chicago authorities and charged with shoplifting. Under Chicago and the state of Illinois sanctuary policies, Medina-Medina was set free by authorities rather than being turned over to ICE officials for removal proceedings.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.