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Illegal immigrant who posted bail after vehicular homicide charge turns self in to ICE
Ivan Zamarripa-Castaneda, an illegal immigrant charged with vehicular homicide, posted bail and avoided ICE detainment due to a communications breakdown between ICE and the Denver Sheriff's Department. He turned himself in to ICE on Friday. (Image source: KDVR video screenshot)

Illegal immigrant who posted bail after vehicular homicide charge turns self in to ICE

The illegal immigrant who was released on bail by the Denver Sheriff’s Department without notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement turned himself in to ICE on Friday, the Denver Post reported.

Ivan Zamarripa-Castaneda faces charges of vehicular homicide, DUI, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

What happened?

Zamarripa-Castaneda was involved in a deadly crash that killed truck driver John Anderson on March 3.

Zamarripa-Castaneda fled the scene of the accident and was arrested hours later. He posted $25,000 bail and was released. ICE, which was seeking to detain him for deportation, was not notified of Zamarripa-Castaneda’s impending release until an hour after he was gone.

Sheriff Patrick Firman admitted that his department made a mistake in letting the suspect go without first notifying ICE.

“This is unacceptable and the sheriff has ordered an immediate internal review to determine why established notification processes did not take place before Zamarripa-Castaneda was released,” Firman's office said at the time.

How did this happen?

This situation came about in part due to continued lack of cooperation between some local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration agents.

The Denver Sheriff’s Department does not honor civil detainers by ICE when the request asks them to hold a suspect past the time they would normally be released. The department honors only federal warrants or requests for notification.

The request for notification is what was ignored in this case to allow Zamarripa-Castaneda to avoid ICE custody.

What happens now?

According to ICE, Zamarripa-Castaneda’s temporary visa expired in 2015.

“He has overstayed his original temporary visa by more than three years,” an ICE news release stated. “He remains in ICE custody pending disposition of his immigration case, or if he is transferred to local custody via a ‘writ of Habeas Corpus’ to further his criminal prosecution.”

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