Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were compelled to conduct a public arrest of convicted drug dealer Anderson Nunez-Hernandez, a citizen from the Dominican Republic, upon his release from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Complex, as per a report from ICE dated Feb. 21. After serving a 23-month sentence for his conviction on possession with intent to distribute charges, Nunez-Hernandez was taken into custody due to Philadelphia's refusal to comply with an immigration detainer that had been issued for him. ICE stated such actions force them to allocate significant resources to address situations that could otherwise have been avoided.
According to ICE, their operations were hindered by the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department's decision to not honor the detainer, leading to what acting Field Office Director Brian McShane described as a compromise of public safety and an unnecessary drain on taxpayer funds. McShane explained, "It forces ICE to divert substantial resources to locate and apprehend criminal aliens in unpredictable, high-risk public areas." He characterized the noncompliance tor releasing a criminal individual into the community without coordination with federal law enforcement as prioritizing politics over public safety. Nunez-Hernandez had been initially detained by the U.S. Border Patrol in Texas, was paroled from ICE custody, and had a pending immigration removal proceeding scheduled in Philadelphia.
After being nabbed near McAllen, Texas, for entering the United States without proper admission, Nunez-Hernandez was issued a summons to appear before an immigration judge and later paroled, with orders to show for a subsequent removal proceeding. It was during his time in Pennsylvania that he became the target of a narcotics investigation, led by the state's Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, which includes an ICE officer. This operation resulted in the seizure of a large amount of Fentanyl and his eventual arrest and conviction. He was convicted by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County on Feb. 21.
ICE encourages anyone with knowledge of crimes or suspicious behavior to reach out through their Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423), or through the online tip form.
