ICE lodges detainer for illegal immigrant charged in brutal killing of New York taxi driver
Detainer aims to keep suspect in federal custody as authorities investigate charges related to a Brewster, New York, homicide; DHS ties case to broader border-security narrative
The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that federal agents issued an arrest detainer for a criminal illegal immigrant charged with homicide and robbery after allegedly strangling a New York taxi driver during a fare dispute earlier this month. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged the detainer for Santos Paulino Vasquez-Ramirez, a Guatemalan national, who is accused of killing a cab operator on Dec. 1 in Brewster, New York. The victim, Aurelio Zhunio-Orbez, 66, of Danbury, Connecticut, was found Dec. 7 in the Croton Falls Reservoir.
Vasquez-Ramirez illegally entered the United States in 2013 and was released into the country under the Obama administration. An immigration judge issued him a final removal order in early 2016. ICE lodged the arrest detainer with local authorities to ensure he would be kept in federal custody and not released into American neighborhoods after his arrest on murder and robbery charges on Dec. 12, according to DHS.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Vasquez-Ramirez should not have been in the United States and noted that border policies can have deadly consequences. She said ICE would transfer him to federal custody and that the arrest detainer helps prevent his release into communities. The department framed the case as part of a broader effort under the current administration to target the most dangerous offenses.
Aurelio Zhunio-Orbez, 66, of Danbury, Connecticut, was found dead Dec. 7 in the Croton Falls Reservoir after the incident in Brewster, according to DHS.
In a year-end DHS report released Friday, the department said more than 2.5 million illegal immigrants have left the United States since President Donald Trump returned to office this year, a figure it framed as evidence of a more secure border. The agency said about 1.9 million migrants have self-deported and more than 622,000 have been forced out since Trump took office on Jan. 20, according to DHS.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case underscores ongoing political debates over immigration enforcement and border security, as officials emphasize detainers and other tools in cases involving criminal illegal aliens.