U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said May 1 that it lodged a detainer for Wilfredo Jose Tortolero-Arriechi, a Venezuelan national charged in connection with the fatal stabbing of Alberto Rangel in San Francisco.
DHS said ICE lodged the detainer on Dec. 11 after the Dec. 4 fatal stabbing of 51-year-old Alberto Rangel at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Tortolero-Arriechi was first encountered by U.S. Border Patrol agents in 2023 and is being held at the San Francisco County Jail on homicide and use of a deadly weapon charges, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS called on California officials to honor the detainer and said Tortolero-Arriechi should not be released under sanctuary policies. The agency said ICE detainers are used to request that local law enforcement notify ICE before releasing individuals who may be subject to federal immigration enforcement, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS said California had more than 33,000 criminal illegal aliens with active ICE detainers in local, state and federal facilities. The agency also said California state and local jurisdictions had released 4,561 individuals after declining to honor ICE detainers since Jan. 20, 2025, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE publishes enforcement statistics on arrests, detainers and removals through its immigration enforcement programs. The agency says detainers ask law enforcement agencies to notify ICE before releasing individuals and to maintain custody long enough for ICE to assume custody when appropriate, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was established in 2003 as part of the Department of Homeland Security. The agency enforces federal immigration laws and conducts investigations involving customs, border security and public safety matters, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
