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An illegal immigrant charged with vehicular homicide in a fiery crash on a Colorado interstate bonded out of jail Saturday, a week after the deadly hit-and-run incident, despite being wanted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Ivan Zamarripa-Castaneda, 26, allegedly fled the scene of the accident on Interstate 70 involving a tractor-trailer that caught on fire last week, leaving the driver to die, according to the Denver Police Department.
Zamarripa-Castaneda bonded out on Saturday, according to jail records, but it’s not clear if he has been taken into custody, FOX 31 reported.
Officials from ICE did not return a request for comment by Fox News on the whereabouts of Zamarripa-Castaneda.
Flames from a crash on Interstate 70, where police say Ivan Zamarripa-Castaneda fled from the scene.
(Manuel Chavez)
The 26-year-old had bond posted at $25,000, meaning he could get out of jail for $2,500 and avoid federal immigration officials until his next court date. That’s because the Denver Police Department and other state agencies stopped honoring detainer orders from ICE since 2013 after courts ruled it was illegal.
The Denver Sheriff Department, which operates the jail, told Fox News last week that unless ICE gets a federal criminal warrant that Zamarripa-Castaneda could leave detention after posting bond.
“The Denver Sheriff Department will not honor civil detainers as it is considered unconstitutional,” the agency said in a statement.
ICE officials told Fox News last week they detain up to 40,000 people per day, and don’t have the resources to go after every federal warrant.
“By placing retainers on these individuals, we actually help improve public safety by taking these criminal aliens off the streets and ultimately removing them to their country of origin,” ICE Director of Communications Carl Rusnok told Fox News.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT LINKED TO FATAL HIT-RUN NOT DETAINED IN DENVER DESPITE ICE REQUEST
A criminal defense attorney in Denver said the sheriff’s department isn’t doing anything wrong, regardless of the crime involved.
“Saying because something’s very serious we want to just abandon all of our constitutional principles and do what’s quote unquote right doesn’t make any legal sense,” Chris Decker told Fox News.
But for Don Rosenberg, who lost his son in a 2010 crash involving an illegal immigrant and now is a member of the group “Fight Sanctuary State,” the Colorado case is different.
“His rights don’t supersede everybody else’s right,” he told Fox News. “And the first right: He’s in the country illegally. He has no right whatsoever to be here.”
Fox News’ Alicia Acuna in Denver contributed to this report.
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