Despite the best efforts of Maryland law enforcement authorities to protect a known criminal alien gang member, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents apprehended Brayan Eleazar Angulo-Barrios, 26, in Hyattsville, Maryland. The Prince George’s County Department of Corrections released Angulo-Barrios, but ICE did not arrest him. Although ICE had filed an immigration detainer, officials released the criminal immigrant.
According to ICE officers, Angulo-Barrios is a known 18th Street gang member who has been convicted of possessing a loaded weapon and narcotics with the intent to distribute. Last Monday, ICE apprehended Angulo-Barrios in Hyattsville.
Angulo-Barrios allegedly entered the United States illegally on an unknown date and from an unknown location without being inspected, admitted, or paroled by an immigration officer. Angulo-Barrios lacks lawful immigrant status in the United States.
According to ICE, Angulo-Barrios was detained by the Prince George’s County Police Department in 2021 and charged with possessing narcotics with intent to distribute. Angulo-Barrios was arrested for narcotics distribution while carrying a loaded firearm.
In August 2023, the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County convicted Angulo-Barrios of possessing a loaded firearm with the purpose to distribute it. He was sentenced to one year in prison and three years on supervised probation for both counts.
On July 29, 2022, Maryland State Police detained and charged Angulo-Barrios for possessing a loaded weapon in his vehicle. In November 2022, the District Court for Montgomery County in Silver Spring, Maryland, found Angulo-Barrios guilty of having a loaded pistol. Angulo-Barrios received a 110-day jail sentence for the offense.
The Prince George’s County Police Department detained Angulo-Barrios again in April 2024 and accused him of breaking his probation.
On April 19, 2024, ICE filed an immigration detainer for Angulo-Barrios with the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections. The department declined to honor ICE’s immigration detainer and released Angulo-Barrios on April 23, 2024. Angulo-Barrios stayed free in Maryland for over a year before being arrested last week.
According to ICE, a final order of removal for Angulo-Barrios was issued on April 22, and the Salvadoran gang member will stay in ICE custody until his transfer from the United States to El Salvador.
Maryland law enforcement and correctional facilities have a history of releasing criminal illegal aliens onto city streets to avoid deportation by ICE. The aliens are freed despite their criminal background or ICE detainers that require notification before release.
In early April, the White House condemned Prince George’s County’s failure to honor the detainers. The statement also criticized other Maryland officials who support sanctuary policies, which result in the release of violent criminal illegal aliens.
In the statement, a White House official said sanctuary policies endanger the lives of Americans, adding, “The latest example comes in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where an illegal immigrant was arrested, charged with murder and assault, and then released back onto the streets despite an ICE immigration detainer request — a result of the county’s insane “sanctuary” policies.”
On Monday, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens,” which aims to penalize states and municipalities that have policies and practices that protect criminal illegal aliens. The directive requires the identification of sanctuary states and towns, as well as the imposition of appropriate financial and criminal penalties.
