CHICAGO – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested a convicted murderer and gang member in Chicago’s southwest suburbs this week, days after Illinois prison officials released him under the state’s sanctuary policies, according to ICE.
What we know:
ICE said its officers arrested Aldo Salazar Bahena, 37, on Monday in northwest suburban Elgin, as part of Operation Midway Blitz, an enforcement effort targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal records in the Chicago area.
Salazar, a member of the Larazo street gang, was convicted in 2007 of beating 21-year-old Fernando Diaz Jr. to death in 2005. He served nearly two decades at Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill before being released on Friday.
Aldo Salazar Bahena | ICE
Prison officials declined to honor a federal immigration detainer, ICE said, allowing Salazar to walk free for three days before agents located him.
“Sanctuary policies, by design, protect criminals — and in this case, a murderer — over the safety of American communities,” acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said in a statement. “Luckily, ICE was there to effectuate his lawful arrest and removal from the streets.”
The backstory:
ICE said Salazar and several other gang members killed Diaz in September 2005 after he allegedly insulted their gang. Diaz was beaten and his body was left on a trail near the Fox River. Salazar was arrested nine days later and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2007.
Salazar entered the U.S. in 1998 as a lawful permanent resident but never became a citizen. He lost that status in 2016 when an immigration judge ordered him removed.
“Salazar was locked away in one of Illinois’ maximum-security prisons for two decades for murder, but the state saw fit to release him despite the fact that he had a final order of removal from a Department of Justice immigration judge dated Sept. 26, 2016,” said Lyons.
Big picture view:
Operation Midway Blitz, launched this month, is named in honor of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old woman killed in January in a crash involving a Guatemalan national in the country illegally. The initiative is part of a broader effort under President Donald Trump to expand deportations and immigration-related arrests.
Illinois leaders, including Sen. Dick Durbin, have criticized the crackdown. Durbin previously called the enforcement push “a waste of money” that “stokes fear.”
What’s next:
ICE said Salazar will remain in federal custody until his removal.
The Source: The information in this story came from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and previous FOX 32 reporting.
