A convicted child molester and Venezuelan national in the country illegally could soon be released unless Seattle abandons its sanctuary policies and cooperates with federal immigration authorities.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a detainer request for Leomar Alexander Lopez Zambrano, asking Seattle officials to transfer him to federal custody rather than release him into the community after he completes his prison sentence.
The dispute adds to the longstanding conflict between the Department of Homeland Security and Seattle, one of several liberal jurisdictions that limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials.
The confrontation also comes as the results of Tuesday’s elections place ICE under heightened scrutiny. The agency has faced intense criticism during President Donald Trump’s second term, while a newly empowered Democratic Congress could increase pressure on officials overseeing immigration enforcement.
“Sanctuary politicians in Washington are refusing to honor the ICE detainer and hand this disgusting criminal over to us after he finishes his prison sentence,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.
“This illegal alien has been convicted on TWO counts of child molestation.”
Following the 2026 midterm elections, Zambrano’s case is raising fresh questions about whether sanctuary jurisdictions will become more aggressive in resisting Trump’s immigration agenda as Democrats prepare to reclaim control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Hans von Spakovsky, an immigration policy expert at Advancing American Freedom, said the changing political landscape in Washington could prompt Democratic-led cities to further obstruct federal immigration enforcement.
“I have no doubt that sanctuary jurisdictions will feel emboldened,” Spakovsky told Fox News Digital in the days following what he described as a Republican bloodbath.
“I also would not put it past [Democrats] to try to impeach Tom Homan for imagined wrongs because he has been the most effective czar of immigration enforcement of any administration in the past 50 years,” he said.
“I don’t think they would be successful, but, again, that will embolden defiance of federal immigration enforcement in sanctuary jurisdictions.”
Sanctuary jurisdictions often restrict communication with federal authorities, a policy DHS officials fear could prevent them from taking custody of Zambrano once his sentence ends.
Zambrano is nearing the completion of a 15-month prison term, after which he would ordinarily be subject to deportation. Mullin said that without Seattle’s cooperation, DHS might not know when he is released.
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“Sanctuary politicians care so much about illegal aliens that they’d rather release a convicted child molester than cooperate with federal law enforcement,” Mullin said.
Asked about Seattle’s cooperation with DHS, the agency reiterated its position that local and federal authorities must work together.
“The safest way to arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from our streets is by lodging arrest detainers. Because some sanctuary jurisdictions refuse to work with ICE law enforcement, criminal illegal aliens are released from jails into American communities to perpetuate more crimes. Seven of the top 10 safest cities in the United States cooperate with ICE,” the agency said in a statement.
Republican observers say the same conflict could spread to other states after the election, including traditionally conservative states such as Texas.
Conservative commentator and podcast host Dan Bongino pointed to Texas’ newly elected Democratic governor, Gina Hinojosa, who voted against restrictions on sanctuary cities while serving as a state legislator in 2017.
“Folks, Texas shares a border with Mexico. Do we need to ChatGPT this for people?” Bongino said on a recent podcast. “The only message [voters] are sending is you want your state to become a sanctuary, sitting on the border with Mexico for illegals who come into the United States.”
Spakovsky said resistance from local governments could coincide with efforts by congressional Democrats to restrict immigration enforcement through legislation. He predicted Democrats would use the appropriations process to target funding for DHS and the Justice Department, although he questioned whether those efforts would succeed.
“Democrats will, no doubt, try to stop DHS from immigration enforcement and DOJ from prosecutions in the immigration area by trying to use the appropriations process to defund such enforcement at both agencies,” Spakovsky said.
“I am not sure they will be successful … especially if they tie such punitive measures with must-pass government funding that the president signs.”
When asked whether DHS was concerned that sanctuary cities might take a more confrontational approach after Democrats regain control in Washington, the department provided a statement from Mullin.
“Deportations will continue,” the DHS secretary said.
Seattle officials did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment regarding Zambrano’s status.