3 days Ago By Aneeta Bhole, Steven Vago, Amanda Woods, Alex Oliveira
A migrant sex offender in the country illegally was nabbed in the city by federal immigration officials – weeks after he finished a jail stint for molesting a child and walked free, authorities said. Raymond Rojas Basilio, 36, was arrested at his Queens home Tuesday, nearly three months after he finished a short sentence on a conviction for molesting a child under 11 years old, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement. Basilio — a Mexican national who has illegally crossed into the US numerous times for decades — had been in prison since his arrest in August 2023, and was released on Sept.
20 after serving 60 days in prison, records show. He was also briefly detained on Nov. 13, but it is unclear why.
ICE said the city cut him loose before they were able to file a detainer request, and blamed local sanctuary policies for why they weren’t notified that the sex offender was being let loose. “Unfortunately, non-cooperation policies prevented ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] from taking immediate custody of this individual upon completion of his local sentence,” the New York division of ICE said in a statement. “As this case illustrates, it only takes one successful unlawful entry to do irreparable harm to a member of our community,” the agency added.
Detainers serve as a hold request for detainees ICE suspects are in the country illegally. While the city has no obligation to hold somebody without a detainer, its sanctuary policies also prevent investigators from asking about immigration status or cooperating with immigration officials in many cases. Without such policies, the agencies may have been in contact and the suspect never given the chance to evade law enforcement.
A Department of Corrections spokesperson told The Post the agency “processes ICE detainers pursuant to local law, which defines the extent of our cooperation with federal immigration authorities.” Basilio was first arrested trying to sneak into the country over the southern border three times as far back as 2002, according to ICE. He was encountered by border agents two more times in 2012, and again sent back into Mexico, officials said.
It is unknown when or where he finally made it into the country. He is now in the process of being deported to Mexico, but some local lawmakers have had enough of the city’s sanctuary policies. “The arrest of Raymond Rojas Basilio underscores the failures of sanctuary city laws and open-border policies,” said Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens).
“Despite being stopped multiple times over 20 years, he was ultimately able to enter illegally and commit a horrific crime against a child in our community,” he added. “ICE did commendable work in apprehending him, but their job should not be this difficult. We must repeal sanctuary city laws to ensure public safety and prevent further tragedies.
” Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) said, “Monsters like this are exactly why sanctuary policies need to end.” “People like Raymond Rojas Basilio are taking advantage of policies cooked up by out-of-touch progressive state lawmakers and now an innocent child has been irreparably harmed,” she said. “This needs to end – ICE needs to get in here and start deporting criminals before any more people are hurt.
” Councilman Joe Borelli (R. Staten Island) said the suspect’s face should hand “like a scarlet letter” on campaign ads and posters. “Barring the NYPD from cooperating with ICE only assists scumbags like this,” he added.
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