The driver in an Egg Harbor City accident that killed a 7-year-old pedestrian was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for being in the country illegally.
Jorge Rodriguez-Saldana, 30, was driving a GMC pickup truck on the White Horse Pike at about 8:40 p.m. July 10, when he struck a woman and her grandson as they and another child crossed the street near Buffalo Avenue, officials said at the time.
He was charged with being an unlicensed driver in a fatal motor vehicle crash and released on a summons.
But on July 13, a biometric hit led to his arrest in Horsham, Pa., by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations officers out of Newark, according to a release.
A biometric hit happens based on the fingerprint-based biometric data submitted during bookings by state and local law enforcement agencies to the FBI for criminal background checks, according to information the office provided to BreakingAC.
Rodriguez-Saldana is from Mexico.
ICE-ERO Newark Field Office Director John Tsoukaris said the arrest could have happened sooner if not for the state Attorney General’s directive limiting cooperation with ICE.
“Unfortunately, this is another example that makes apparent the significant public safety concerns the NJ AG Directive limiting cooperation with ICE poses,” he said. “Had it not been for the persistent, courageous and diligent efforts of ICE-ERO to track him down, this individual might have fled. We will continue to make public safety our highest priority despite dangerous state policies.”
The directive updates an existing one from 2007 issued by then-state Attorney General Anne Milgram.
“Nothing in this new Directive limits New Jersey law enforcement agencies or officers from enforcing state law — and nothing in this Directive should be read to imply that New Jersey provides ‘sanctuary’ to those who commit crimes in this state,” current Attorney General Gurbir Grewal wrote in the directive updated Nov. 29.
But Tsoukaris seemed to disagree.
“If this directive was not in place, Atlantic County law enforcement could have felt free to contact ICE regarding Saldana’s status,” a statement from his office read.
It did not clarify who in Atlantic County would have reached out.
The case was handled by Egg Harbor City police with a release on the fatal crash put out by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
