Tompkins County Jail Rejects ICE Warrant, Feds Arrest Wanted Man at Social Services Office
Federal authorities have arrested a Mexican citizen who was previously in the custody of the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office in Ithaca, New York. The individual, Jesus Romero-Hernandez, 27, was taken into federal custody after local law enforcement released him despite a federal arrest warrant.
Romero-Hernandez had been held on New York State assault charges and pleaded guilty to assault in the third degree, receiving a sentence of time served. Following his plea, the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office released him on January 28, 2025. Prior to his release, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had provided the sheriff’s office with a federal arrest warrant signed by a U.S. Magistrate Judge. However, the sheriff’s office did not detain Romero-Hernandez for ICE, and he was released before federal agents arrived.
The following day, ICE, in coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations, apprehended Romero-Hernandez outside of the county’s social services office. He had been charged in a federal criminal complaint on January 8, 2024, with illegally reentering the United States after a prior removal.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York has announced it is reviewing the circumstances of Romero-Hernandez’s release.
Federal officials have raised concerns about the refusal to honor the federal arrest warrant, while local authorities have not commented on their decision. Sanctuary city policies, which some jurisdictions implement to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, have been a point of ongoing debate between federal and local authorities.
Romero-Hernandez remains in federal custody, and the charges against him are pending. As in all legal cases, he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.