The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had lodged a detainer against an 18-year-old Salvadoran national charged with murder in two separate Houston shootings, asking Texas authorities not to release him without first notifying federal agents. Jefferson Adonay Velasquez-Torres is accused in the deaths of a 27-year-old man and a 17-year-old in incidents that occurred months apart.
Velasquez-Torres was charged this week with murder in the April 27 shooting outside a Houston nightclub in which Noah Ramirez, 27, was killed. Two other people were injured in the shooting.
He had previously been charged in June with murder for his alleged involvement in a shooting at a Houston house party last August that left Angel Garcia, 17, dead. A second suspect, Enrique Aguilar, 19, was arrested in connection with the teenager’s death, according to local reports.
Velasquez-Torres also faces charges of unlawfully carrying a weapon and aggravated robbery, the department said. He was denied bond on charges related to one of the fatal shootings and is being held at a county jail in Texas.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement that the suspect had been charged with two counts of murder after two fatal shootings in Houston. «This criminal illegal alien has been charged with TWO counts of murder after two fatal shootings in Houston,» Bis said. She said he would not be in the country if it were not for what she described as the reckless open-border policies of the Obama administration.
Bis also thanked Texas for cooperating with ICE. «ICE asked officials in Texas to not release this heinous murderer from jail without notifying ICE,» she said. «Thankfully, Texas cooperates with us and together we will ensure this public safety threat will never be loose on our streets.»
According to DHS, Velasquez-Torres entered the United States illegally as a minor in 2014, during former President Barack Obama’s second term, and was released into the country. Federal officials have pointed to the case as an example of how local cooperation with ICE can keep a defendant with violent charges in custody while the criminal case proceeds.
Friday’s announcement is the latest in a series of ICE enforcement updates in which federal officials have highlighted cases involving noncitizens accused of violent crimes. DHS has also criticized jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, arguing that such policies can allow dangerous offenders to remain on the streets.
