Last week, two male high school students at Rockville High School in Maryland allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl in the bathroom. One of the two suspects is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, but Maryland Democrats want to protect him from getting deported.
The Democratic-controlled Maryland legislature voted in favor of a bill to make their state the first “sanctuary state” in the country. If the bill becomes law, it would protect illegal immigrants like 18-year-old Henry Sanchez-Milian, who was arrested last week along with 17-year-old Jose Montano.
The two students, who were enrolled as freshmen due to their limited English skills, have been charged with first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sexual offenses, according to Fox 5 DC.
After Sanchez-Milian’s arrest, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement issued an immigration detainer, ordering local law enforcement to help detain him until his immigration case is reviewed.
If enacted, the Maryland Law Enforcement and Trust Act, which passed the Maryland House of Delegates on Monday with a vote of 83-55, would prohibit local and state law enforcement from cooperating with federal authorities to find and deport undocumented immigrants, effectively making the state a “sanctuary state.”
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, threatened to veto the bill if it made it past the state senate and called on Montgomery County officials to comply with federal authorities throughout the rape investigation.
The State of MD is calling on Montgomery County to fully cooperate w/federal authorities during the investigation: https://t.co/RPoeeRbqfw pic.twitter.com/RXBVY3u3B3
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) March 21, 2017
The bill does have one compromise — it allows counties to continue working with federal immigration officials if they so desire.
One Rockville resident, Brigitta Mullican, who legally immigrated to the United State from Germany, has had enough. In an interview with Fox 5 DC, she spoke out against the legislators’ decision to make her state a safe haven for undocumented immigrants.
“I am sick of our legislator approving this stuff,” she said. “I am disgusted that my city council is going to approve sanctuary city. And that our Maryland legislators have approved this. I hope that our governor vetoes it and that they don’t get enough legislator to override this.”
