Council Member Robert Holden has commended ICE for their arrest of a child sex offender in New York City but also expressed his disappointment with sanctuary city policies.
On Dec. 17, Raymond Rojas Basilio, a previously removed citizen of Mexico convicted of forcibly touching a child, was arrested in New York. His victim was less than 11 years old.
Fugitive operations officers arrested the 36-year-old outside his residence in Queens, and he is currently in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) custody pending removal to Mexico.
“The arrest of Raymond Rojas Basilio underscores the failures of sanctuary city laws and open-border policies. Despite being stopped multiple times over 20 years, he was ultimately able to enter illegally and commit a horrific crime against a child in our community,” stated Holden.
“ICE did commendable work in apprehending him, but their job should not be this difficult. We must repeal sanctuary city laws to ensure public safety and prevent further tragedies.”
Holden currently represents District 30 in Queens, which covers Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village, and Glendale.
The U.S. Border Patrol arrested Rojas following three separate attempts to unlawfully enter the U.S. at or near Douglas, Arizona, between May 3 and May 6, 2002. Rojas voluntarily returned to Mexico on each occasion.
“This criminal has repeatedly shown he has absolutely no regard for our nation’s laws as evidenced by his repeated attempts to unlawfully or fraudulently enter the United States,” said Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo.
“As this case illustrates, it only takes one successful unlawful entry to do irreparable harm to a member of our community. Unfortunately, non-cooperation policies prevented ERO from taking immediate custody of this individual upon completion of his local sentence; however, due to the diligence of our officers, ERO New York City was able to rapidly apprehend this public safety threat before he could harm any other New Yorkers.”
The NYPD arrested Rojas on Aug. 28, 2023, for the crimes of first-degree sexual abuse with a child younger than 11 years old. He was released from local custody prior to ERO lodging an immigration detainer. This is a request from ICE that asks a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency, including jails, prisons, or other confinement facilities, to notify the requesting agency as early as possible before they release a removable noncitizen and hold them for up to an additional 48 hours.
The Kings County Supreme Court in Brooklyn convicted Rojas on Sept. 20, 2024, and he was sentenced on Nov. 11 to 60 days incarceration, six years of probation, and the requirement to register as a sex offender.
