Child molester's looming prison release reignites sanctuary showdown in wake of Dem election sweep
A convicted child molester and illegal alien from Venezuela could soon be back on the streets unless authorities in Seattle ditch their sanctuary city policies and cooperate with federal immigration...
By Fox News · Fox News
A convicted child molester and illegal alien from Venezuela could soon be back on the streets unless authorities in Seattle ditch their sanctuary city policies and cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sent to the liberal Pacific Northwest enclave a detainer request for Leomar Alexander Lopez Zambrano, asking that he be turned over rather than be released back into the U.S. after his prison sentence concludes. The clash between DHS and Seattle exacerbates longstanding tensions between President Donald Trump’s immigration officials and leaders in so-called " sanctuary cities, " which that have thrown up roadblocks to law enforcement cooperating with federal enforcement authorities. Going a step further, the outcome of Tuesday's elections are putting even more of a microscope on the agency at the center of much controversy during Trump's second term — and raising questions over which administration officials could face the wrath of a brand new blue Congress. DEMOCRAT SEIZE HOUSE CONTROL IN STUNNING BLUE TSUNAMI, VOW RETRIBUTION AGAINST TRUMP ADMIN "Sanctuary politicians in Washington are refusing to honor the ICE detainer and hand this disgusting criminal over to us after he finishes his prison sentence," Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. "This illegal alien has been convicted on TWO counts of child molestation." In the wake of the 2026 midterms, the moment in Seattle raises new questions of whether sanctuary cities will feel emboldened to double down on their efforts to block Trump's agenda as Democrats prepare to retake a majority in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. To those like Hans von Spakovsky, an immigration expert with Advancing American Freedom (AAF), the political tide turning in Washington, D.C. might encourage Democrat-run cities to go even further in stonewalling immigration enforcement agencies and making it harder for offi…