ICE Helps Illegal Immigrant Escape Justice In Colorado

The Homeland Security agency that freed the illegal immigrant felon who recently killed a Virginia nun has helped an undocumented alien escape justice for robbing an elderly man in Colorado.

It marks the second time in a few months that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) makes headlines for failing to do its principle job of protecting the border and removing illegal foreigners, especially violent ones who have served time for crimes.

In the Colorado case, ICE shielded a Mexican felony defendant by flying him to Texas and escorting him south of the border after he jumped bail. The illegal immigrant had been charged with stealing a trailer from an 81-year-old man in Jefferson County, which is located on the western edge of Denver in the scenic Rocky Mountains. He faced up to a dozen years in prison.

Outraged Jefferson County prosecutors say that ICE was “complicit” in the illegal immigrant’s “escape from justice.” Adding to the indignation is the fact that the agency didn’t bother telling local authorities that their defendant was escorted home. They found out when the illegal immigrant, Damacio Torres-Ochoa, didn’t show up for an October court hearing.

“This kind of sticks in our craw,” Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey told a local newspaper, adding that he’s “had enough” of the federal big leaguing in local criminal cases. Colorado makes it easy for illegal immigrants charged with crimes to flee because the state passed a law in 2007 that exempts bond companies from forfeiture when suspects leave the country.

That doesn’t diminish the role ICE played in helping this illegal immigrant escape justice, however. Ironically, the agency failed to deport an illegal alien with an extensive criminal record who had been arrested and released on his own recognizance. That guy, a Bolivian with a revoked license and several drunk-driving arrests, got behind the wheel intoxicated and killed a nun in Virginia a few months ago.