U.S. Says Sheriff Could Face Prosecution for Releasing Immigrant

The acting U.S.deputy attorney general called on Thursday for an investigation of an upstate New York sheriff who had released an undocumented immigrant from custody — in an apparent escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign against sanctuary cities.Emil Bove III, who was named acting deputy attorney general last week, said that the U.S.

attorney for the Northern District of New York was looking into the failure of Sheriff Derek R.Osborne of Tompkins County to honor a federal arrest warrant.

It was for the arrest of Jesus Romero-Hernandez, 27, a Mexican citizen who Mr.Bove said was released from jail in Ithaca, N.Y., on Tuesday after having pleaded guilty to assault in the third degree.“I applaud the U.S.

attorney’s commitment to investigate these circumstances for potential prosecution,” Mr.Bove said in a news release.The episode in Ithaca, 230 miles north of New York City, could present an early test of the Trump administration’s threat to take on so-called sanctuary city policies, which include various measures to bar local officials from assisting U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement.ICE has stepped up immigration raids since Mr.Trump took office, focusing on immigrants with criminal records.

In New York City on Tuesday, 39 people were arrested in a show of force, with ICE agents teaming with other federal agencies.The administration created a “Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group” and is threatening to bring civil lawsuits against jurisdictions that stand in the federal government’s way on immigration enforcement.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....