PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that authorities are arresting three illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border after authorities arrested them for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman near Lake Worth Beach. called for increased security.
“Don't think for a second that what's happening on the Mexican border won't have an impact here,” said Sheriff Rick Bradshaw. “We have three illegal aliens here who have committed very serious crimes who shouldn't be in this country. Kidnapping and sexually assaulting women. They shouldn't be here.”
Video: Sheriff Rick Bradshaw talks about arresting illegal immigrants
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw talks about arresting illegal immigrants
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said Andres Felipe Morales, 29, Darinel Ordonez Jimenez, 30, and Marcos Felipe Ramirez, 31, all from Guatemala, were arrested Monday morning. at 1 a.m. in a residential area in the 5000 block of Lake Osborn Drive, police said they had kidnapped a woman. Located just west of I-95 near John Prince Park.
The three men then sexually assaulted her at two separate locations, the sheriff's office said.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
Felipe Morales has been charged with sexual assault and false imprisonment, and the others are being held on two counts of felony conspiracy. Their bond is $200,000 each.
Bradshaw said Wednesday that the men “probably” came through the Mexican border. He criticized the federal government for not doing enough to fortify the southern border and said illegal immigration was the worst in his 52 years in law enforcement.
“It's unconscionable that they can be in this country and commit these types of crimes. The federal government is putting the American people at risk,” Bradshaw said.
The sheriff added that PBSO's intelligence division, which works closely with the FBI, said the world's most dangerous gangs come to Miami from Venezuela.
“They're not just going to stay in Miami. They're going to go wherever they need to go to do what they need to do. I don't know if that's Palm Beach County-Dade or Broward. They're just going to go do their job' and we're going to have to deal with them,” Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw is not the only local sheriff to call for border enforcement in recent months.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder visited the U.S.-Mexico border in February, calling it a near-emergency situation and urging the federal government to send more resources to the southern border.
Snyder toured with Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff Mark Dannels and described to WPTV the complex network of smugglers that traffic people and drugs into the United States.
“I was completely struck by how porous our borders are. How few resources are being put into securing our borders,” Snyder said. “We saw cars coming from all over the country and ending up in Martin County, St. Lucie County and Palm Beach County.”
WPTV
Snyder said after spending four days on the route between the United States and Mexico, the solution was clear.
“We must use every resource the U.S. government has to stop the flow of illegal aliens entering this country,” Snyder said.
