A 56-year-old Salvadoran national, Oscar Adalberto Penate, was taken into custody by ICE Philadelphia agents on July 27 after being released from local law enforcement in Montgomery County, despite charges of sexually assaulting a child. The arrest was a joint effort involving the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia, Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia, and IRS Philadelphia, according to a press release from ICE.
Brian McShane, Field Office Director for ICE ERO Philadelphia, criticized the sanctuary policies of Montgomery County for allowing Penate's release. "If the elected officials in Montgomery County are not going to protect the citizens of the county, we will," he said. Montgomery County's sanctuary policies had, ostensibly, forced prison officials to release Penate to the public instead of honoring the ICE detainer against him. "An illegal alien who committed a crime by unlawfully entering the United States, who is then charged with heinous crimes like this, should never be released to prey on the citizens of Montgomery County," McShane added.
Penate entered the United States in 1998 by crossing the border into Texas and has a criminal record that includes a 2001 arrest for resisting arrest, search, or transport by the Houston Police Department. On July 22, 2025, the Pottstown Township Police Department arrested Penate on multiple charges, including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years of age and corruption of minors, among other counts.
Despite the serious nature of the charges and Penate's history, the Montgomery County Correctional Facility released him because of local sanctuary policies, leading to this intervention by federal authorities. Penate will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. Individuals with further information can report crimes or suspicious activity by contacting the ICE Tip Line or using their online tip form, the agency encourages.
For updates and more information on ICE Philadelphia's ongoing activities to ensure public safety in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia, the public is invited to follow their official account on Twitter, found at @EROPhiladelphia.
