Immigration officials shielded accused San Bernardino conspirator from ICE agents

[Geee]

Washington Times:

Federal immigration officers refused to let an armed team of agents into their office to detain the accused conspirator in December’s San Bernardino terrorist attack, government officials acknowledged Tuesday, exposing an embarrassing lack of communication within the Department of Homeland Security.

 

Those who ran the legal immigration benefits office in San Bernardino refused to let a team from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement enter to detain and hold Enrique Marquez so the FBI could interview him later, Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said.

 

It turned out Mr. Marquez didn’t show for the meeting at the immigration office, but Mr. Johnson said the lack of communication between U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the benefits branch, and Homeland Security Investigations, which is an enforcement division within the Homeland Security Department, was stunning.

 

“We had a team, armed up, potentially dealing with a terrorist, they had a tip from the FBI that Mr. Marquez might be at the USCIS office, and the officer in charge of USCIS wouldn’t allow HSI into the building,” the senator said.