Sanctuary City Mayor Slammed in Congress for Release of Violent Tren de Aragua Gang Member

On Wednesday, several sanctuary-city mayors testified on their jurisdictions' policies before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. There were some inexplicable and embarrassing performances, but few more so than Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's excusing that city's release of a Tren de Aragua gang member "to the streets" instead of handing him over directly to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite an ICE retainer.

(Full disclosure: my wife and I lived in the Denver area for 30 years, our kids grew up there, and two of them still live there.)

The Tren de Aragua goblin in question is one Abraham Gonzalez, and his record is about what you'd expect. What you shouldn't have to expect is how this illegal immigrant was allowed to very nearly evade arrest by ICE.

First, some background from Fox News' Bill Melugin:

NEW: These are the release documents for the Tren de Aragua gang member that was released to a Denver jail parking lot due to sanctuary policy, leading to an ICE agent being assaulted. Notice it is stamped “release to street” by the Denver Sheriffs Dept, & they even gave the TdA… pic.twitter.com/hZ9GbJONUs
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 5, 2025

Mr. Melugin's post continues:

Notice it is stamped “release to street” by the Denver Sheriffs Dept, & they even gave the TdA gang member a heads up that ICE was asking about his release date, & notified him he has the right to refuse to speak to ICE.

ICE’s detainer request is also attached. ICE asked for the TdA gang member to be handed over to their custody inside the safety of the Denver jail. Denver Sheriff’s Dept. refused, due to sanctuary policy, and he assaulted ICE when they arrested him in the jail parking lot.

Congressman @Jim_Jordan and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston had an exchange about this during the @GOPoversight hearing with sanctuary city mayors.

Mayor Johnston said “this is the first time I’ve been made aware of that there’s been an incident like this.”

First time he's been "made aware?" Yeah, right.

Watch this video of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) grilling Mayor Johnston:

Sanctuary cities congressional hearing — Rep. Jim Jordan presses Denver mayor Mike Johnston about jails refusing to comply with ICE detainers.

On Friday, a county jail released an illegal alien gang member with a lengthy criminal history despite an ICE detainer and warrant.… pic.twitter.com/CdavuJdexr
— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) March 5, 2025

Here's a key excerpt:

JIM JORDAN: Six days after that last charge (of several charges filed against Gonzalez) ICE sent you a detainer which includes an administrative warrant. Basically it says if you're going to release this bad guy, this gang member who allegedly stole a car, menaced people and assaulted people, give us a 48-hour head's up. That right? That refresh your memory?
DENVER MAYOR MIKE JOHNSTON: I do know about the retainer request, I do know that we provided a notification of release...
JIM JORDAN: What kind of notice did you give ICE when you released him?
MIKE JOHNSTON: We did give them a notification, I'm not sure when we, how long in advance...
JIM JORDAN: One hour. One hour.

It's difficult to see this as anything other than a deliberate attempt to allow an illegal immigrant to evade ICE custody. And the illegal immigrant in question is a member of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang, who, by the way, was allowed into the country without question during the Biden administration's non-enforcement of the southern border.

Later in the testimony, Rep. Jordan notes that Gonzalez was ordered released "to the street" and that ICE had to send several agents to arrest him in the parking lot, resulting in a scuffle that included the discharge of tasers. Rep. Jordan also notes that Denver could have simply kept the goblin locked up and allowed ICE to come into the jail, cuff him, and take him away.

But that's not what "sanctuary" jurisdictions do.

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Abraham Gonzalez is not an asylum seeker. He did not come from Venezuela, passing through several other countries, to ask for any manner of asylum in the United States. He didn't come here to make a better life for his family. He is a career criminal who was seeking easy pickings in a city that he knew would oppose any attempt by the federal immigration authorities to find and repatriate him. That's why he was in Denver, and in this, the city did not disappoint.

This, folks, is one of the big reasons Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. The testimony from the mayors on this issue - see the links above for more - has been shocking, and their behavior inexcusable. This cannot continue. Sanctuary cities must be held accountable for the policies and actions that allow illegal alien criminals to evade pursuit and capture by the proper immigration authorities.