MINNEAPOLIS — The White House is criticizing the Twin Cities for being a “sanctuary jurisdiction” for undocumented immigrants.
It’s in response to the recent arrest of an Ecuadorian national who was here illegally and is now accused of killing a Minneapolis woman in a head-on crash. The crash occurred in August, but German Llangaria Inga was only charged this month and made his first court appearance on Monday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Jail says they had to release Llangaria Inga last year because he had not been criminally charged, and they say ICE detainer holds that are not signed by a judge are unconstitutional.
The crash was brutal. Llangaria Inga is accused of crossing the center line at Lowry and James Avenue while driving drunk, unlicensed, and uninsured, colliding with another driver head-on.
Victoria Harwell, 31, was killed while driving a white Dodge Durango. Her 14-year-old daughter and sister were in the car with her.
Minneapolis police arrested Llangaria Inga, who allegedly had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit. However, after 36 hours, the Hennepin County Jail released him with no charges filed.
According to an ICE spokesperson, they placed an immigration detainer on Llangaria Inga, but the jail failed to honor or notify them.
Regarding the charges, a Hennepin County Attorney’s Office spokesperson says, “Minneapolis Police waited until they had the results of the toxicology report before submitting the case to us, as is appropriate and common.”
MPD finally submitted the case in December, and the county attorney filed vehicular homicide charges earlier this month, resulting in a warrant for the defendant’s arrest.
Alex Pfeiffer, White House Principal Deputy Communications Director, responded, saying, “An illegal immigrant drove drunk, killed an innocent mother, and fled because Democrats failed to do their most important job: protect their constituents.” This is precisely why the Trump administration is taking steps to hold these so-called’sanctuary’ jurisdictions accountable.”
Over the weekend, the defendant was arrested again and is being held in jail on a $100,000 bond for vehicular homicide.
Attorney General Keith Ellison did not implement the “sanctuary” policies until this year. According to the jail spokesperson, holding an uncharged suspect without a judge’s order is unconstitutional, and they do work with ICE on those cases.