Ron DeSantis says he stepped in to ensure illegal immigrant, accused rapist is back in ICE custody

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has recently claimed credit for ensuring the arrest of an illegal immigrant accused of rape and sexual abuse in Oregon. The suspect had found his way to Florida, and DeSantis said he wanted the man deported after federal immigration officials initially walked back a detainer – and Oregon officials had to request a policy exception to approve an extradition request.

"We had to pull teeth to get the federal government to detain an illegal alien who was apprehended in Florida, but he was wanted on charges involving rape and sexual abuse in Oregon. Since Oregon was not interested in pursuing justice, the plan was to release him on the streets of Florida," DeSantis said. "That is unacceptable. We had to fight back to get a detainer put on this individual."

The case concerns Juan Jose-Sebastian, 26, a Guatemalan national who entered the U.S. in 2015 as an unaccompanied minor and was ordered removed in 2019 by an immigration judge. He has outstanding warrants for rape and sexual abuse charges in Washington County, Oregon.

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Jose-Sebastian was arrested in Florida last month by the Martin County Sheriff's Office, which detained him for driving without a driver’s license. MCSO in turn contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which lodged a detainer – a request for advance notice so that he can be transferred into ICE custody upon his release.

In a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Florida Highway Patrol said MCSO ran a pre-release warrant check on March 1 and found the Oregon warrant for three counts of rape and sexual assault. But Florida officials say that Oregon then "refused to extradite" him, and that ICE also withdrew its detainer because he "did not meet current enforcement priorities." Consequently, MCSO had to release him as they couldn't hold him any longer on the driving offense. 

In a news release, ICE confirmed that the detainer on Jose-Sebastian was lifted and he was released by MCSO, but said the lifting of the detainer occurred before they knew of the outstanding warrants for rape and sexual abuse as initial records checks did not reveal that he met enforcement priorities. After they learned of the warrants, officials say, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) partnered with MCSO, and he was arrested a day later, on March 2. 

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"At the direction of Governor DeSantis' office, Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement intervened to ensure the illegal alien and alleged rapist Juan Jose-Sebastian was taken into custody and held until he could be handed over to ICE," Florida Highway Patrol's Molly Best said.

"Based on the latest information, we are anticipating the deportation of Jose-Sebastian."

Oregon officials have now agreed to the extradition of Jose-Sebastian, but claim they were not contacted by Florida and learned of the matter from the media. The Washington County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that extradition authorization is generally made by the governor’s office, and the policy depends on the classification of the crime. 

Rape in Oregon is classified as an A, B or C felony depending on various factors. Third-degree rape, a class C felony, is a charge applied when the victim is either 15 or 16 years old and the offender is three or more years older. Only A and B felonies carry presumptive nationwide extradition, and Jose-Sebastian was charged with third-degree rape.

According to the Washington County DA's Office: "We have had no communication with anyone from Florida, including the Florida governor’s office and Florida law enforcement. We contacted the Oregon governor’s office on March 6 and asked if they would make an exception to the [nationwide extradition policy]. On that same date, the Oregon governor’s office agreed to authorize funding for extradition and to upgrade the warrant to nationwide status."

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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, but confirmed to local outlets that the extradition was underway after she authorized it, and said her office considers extradition requests on a case-by-case basis.

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The case comes amid an ongoing debate about the deportation of illegal immigrants and the ongoing immigration crisis at the southern border. The issue was put under the spotlight after the death of Laken Riley in Georgia. The suspect charged with her murder is a Venezuelan national who entered the country illegally.

"How pathetic that there’s even a question to release someone like this – who shouldn’t even be in this country in the first place – back onto the streets," DeSantis said.