Feds Urge North Carolina to Detain Illegal Alien Charged With Murder
Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer request highlights importance of 287(g) program
Federal immigration enforcement officials are asking the Wake County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina to detain an illegal alien charged with murder and child abuse.
The request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) highlights the importance of the 287(g) program that enables local and state officials to partner with federal officials to enforce federal immigration law.
North Carolina police arrested Angel Israel Deras-Rivas on Aug. 2. The arrest warrant states Deras-Rivas left his stepson unattended in a bathtub full of water, and the child drowned in his absence. Deras-Rivas, who hails from El Salvador, entered the United States illegally through Texas in 2023. The Biden administration subsequently released him.
Since reassuming office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has worked to reverse former President Joe Biden’s open-borders policies. One of Trump’s first actions upon his return to the Oval Office was to sign an executive order that, among other things, encouraged localities and states to participate in 287(g). The program is named for a key provision of the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act that enables ICE to create such partnerships.
The Wake County Sheriff’s Department does not currently participate in 287(g) and ended its previous 287(g) agreement in December 2018.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a press statement that Deras-Rivas’ stepson would still be alive "if it weren’t for the reckless open-border policies of the Biden Administration that released this criminal into our country in the first place. ICE is calling on officials in North Carolina to commit to not releasing this killer from jail, and to turn him over to ICE custody so we can get him out of our country."
The press release did not mention whether North Carolina officials have responded to the detainer request.
Angel Israel Deras-Rivas. (Courtesy of Wake County Sheriff's Department)How We Fix It
- The Biden administration encouraged local officials to discontinue their 287(g) programs. The Trump administration is now working to expand and reenergize the program.
- Sanctuary policies are the antithesis of the 287(g) program since they prevent local and state officials from cooperating with ICE. President Trump’s Justice Department has filed lawsuits seeking to overturn sanctuary policies.
- Ten blue states have enacted laws that preclude municipalities and counties from participating in 287(g). Legal citizens who fear for their public safety could pressure elected officials to reinstitute previous agreements and create new ones.
Why the Media Silence?
- A paucity of media attention to violent illegal alien crimes persists because this kind of coverage would not fit the preferred media narrative.
- Media outlets reporting on anti-ICE protests outside of an ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey, have not reported on the criminal records of the detainees because the mainstream media is aligned with the Democratic Party and its open-borders agenda.
- There is a concerted effort to turn public opinion against ICE so the Trump administration’s efforts to improve public safety are less successful.
Why It Matters
- Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, heightened immigration enforcement has led to the arrest of 74,082 noncitizens. This figure includes more than 12,000 individuals convicted of aggravated assault.
- The federal-state partnerships on immigration policy streamline the deportation process, get violent criminals off the street, and improve public safety.
- The revelation that hundreds of thousands of noncitizens are on the voter rolls in New Jersey demonstrates that illegal immigration also undermines ballot integrity.
KEEP READING
- Why Are There Thousands of Noncitizens on New Jersey's Voter Rolls? Blame Blue State Policies
- Trump Fraud Task Force's 10-Point Plan to Stop Crooks Pilfering Your Services—Why It Matters
- INTERVIEW: Open Borders and Election Integrity Are the Same Fight
- California Is Hell-Bent on Removing Accountability for Violent Criminals
