18-Year-Old Charged in Two Houston Murders Was Released Into U.S. as a Minor in 2014, ICE Lodges Detainer

Jefferson Adonay Velasquez-Torres, 18, is facing murder charges in two separate fatal shootings in Houston, according to the Department of Homeland Security. ICE has lodged a detainer asking Texas authorities not to release him without notifying the agency first.

Velasquez-Torres was charged this week with murder for an April 27 shooting outside a Houston nightclub that killed 27-year-old Noah Ramirez, according to Fox News affiliate FOX 26 Houston. Two other people were injured in that shooting.

He was previously charged in June with murder for his alleged involvement in a shooting at a Houston house party last August that killed 17-year-old Angel Garcia. A second suspect, 19-year-old Enrique Aguilar, was also arrested in connection with Garcia's death, per FOX 26.

Velasquez-Torres additionally faces charges of unlawfully carrying a weapon and aggravated robbery. He's being held in the Harris County Jail after being denied bond on charges related to the second shooting.

How He Got Here

According to DHS, Velasquez-Torres entered the U.S. illegally as a minor in 2014, during President Obama's second term, and was released into the country rather than removed.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis tied the case directly to that decade-old policy decision. "This criminal illegal alien has been charged with TWO counts of murder after two fatal shootings in Houston," Bis said in a statement. "He would not be in our country if it weren't for the reckless open-border policies of the Obama Administration."

Bis added that ICE asked Texas officials not to release him without notice, and credited the state's cooperation. "ICE asked officials in Texas to not release this heinous murderer from jail without notifying ICE. Thankfully, Texas cooperates with us and together we will ensure this public safety threat will never be loose on our streets."

What a Detainer Actually Does, and Doesn't Do

An ICE detainer is a request, not a court order. It asks a local jail to hold someone so ICE can take custody before release. In this case, DHS's statement credits Texas with cooperating with the detainer request.

This distinction is central to the immigration debate. Critics of sanctuary policies argue that when local jails ignore ICE detainers, dangerous defendants can be released back into communities before immigration enforcement ever gets a chance to intervene. Defenders of those policies argue detainers are civil requests, not warrants, and that local police shouldn't be doing federal immigration enforcement, partly out of concern that it discourages immigrant communities from reporting crime to local cops.

Case Status

Co-defendant Enrique Aguilar's case in the Garcia killing is also pending. FOX 26 Houston has not reported his immigration status.

The charges against Velasquez-Torres are allegations at this stage. The ICE detainer means that if he were to be released from Harris County custody, authorities are expected to notify ICE first so the agency can take him into federal custody.