ICE captures illegal immigrant convicted of sexually assaulting child

Deportation agents arrested an illegal immigrant who entered the United States undetected and sexually assaulted a minor in Maryland.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Luis Portillo-Henriquez, a 39-year-old Salvadoran man arrested multiple times for local crimes and later convicted of sexually assaulting a minor in Baltimore, earlier this month on agency announced in a press release. ICE noted that Portillo entered the United States undetected at an unknown time and place, and without being inspected or paroled by any federal immigration officials, classifying him as “escaped.”

“Luis Portillo-Henriquez has been convicted of sexually abusing a child in Maryland,” ERO Baltimore Field Office Director Matthew Elliston said in a statement. “He posed a significant threat to children in our Maryland neighborhoods.”

“ERO Baltimore continues to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing the most egregious non-citizen criminals from our communities. We're just off the worst of the worst,” Elliston continued.

The Baltimore County, Maryland-Traffic System District Court convicted Portillo of DUI in April 2010 and then convicted him of driving without a license in September 2017, according to ICE.

The Prince George's County Police Department in Hyattsville arrested Portillo in August 2021 for making an unsafe lane change, and the Frederick Police Department arrested him in September of that year for DUI, according to ICE. The Baltimore City Police Department arrested Portillo on March 1, 2023 for driving with a suspended license and arrested him again on March 13 for sexual abuse of a minor and other sex offenses.

The Salvadoran was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor on August 9, 2023 and sentenced to 25 years in prison. However, the Maryland court suspended all but 18 months of his prison sentence.

Deportation agents arrested Portillo in Ellicott City, Md., on June 10, the agency said. He will remain in the custody of Enforcement and Deportation Operations pending the outcome of his removal proceedings.

The ICE arrest follows other high-profile crimes in Maryland allegedly by illegal immigrants.

Víctor Antonio Martínez-Hernández, a 23-year-old Salvadoran living illegally in the United States, was arrested earlier this month in Oklahoma on suspicion of rape and murder from Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five who went on a Maryland hiking trail in August 2023.

Numerous jurisdictions within Maryland are identified as “sanctuary” cities for illegal immigrants by the Center for Immigration Studies, including Baltimore and Prince George's County.

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