Federal immigration authorities are urging officials in Dane County, Wisconsin, not to release a Nicaraguan national facing two counts of second-degree sexual assault involving elderly victims at an assisted living facility where he was employed.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer on April 27 for Julio Cesar Morales Jarquin, who was arrested following an investigation into assaults at the Fitchburg facility. Dane County, a self-declared sanctuary jurisdiction, routinely refuses to honor ICE detainers and has, in some cases, given agents as little as 30 minutes to take custody of criminal illegal aliens before releasing individuals back into Wisconsin communities.
Morales Jarquin entered the United States in 2023 under the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program for Nicaraguans. The program was terminated by the Trump administration in April 2025, after which he remained in the country illegally, according to Department of Homeland Security officials.
“This illegal alien is charged with two counts of sexual assault of an elderly victim at an assisted living facility,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement Tuesday. “This dirtbag was released into the country by the Biden Administration. DHS is calling on sanctuary politicians in Dane County, Wisconsin, to NOT release this criminal from jail back onto the streets to commit more crimes. We need Wisconsin sanctuary politicians to cooperate with us to remove criminals from our country.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between federal enforcement efforts and local sanctuary policies that shield criminal illegal aliens from deportation. ICE has repeatedly warned that such policies endanger public safety, particularly for vulnerable populations such as elderly residents targeted in this alleged assault.
Under sanctuary rules, the county often releases individuals despite federal requests, forcing ICE to scramble for custody or tracking of deportable criminals altogether.
