Antonio Ulises Perez, 38, a native of El Salvador, was arrested on Sept. 30 for alleged first-degree rape by the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, ICE said in a statement. Officials said the agency asked the sheriff’s department on Tuesday to transfer custody of Perez to deportation officers in the event he was scheduled to be released.

They refused and Perez was released Wednesday morning, according to ICE.

“Within a few hours of being released, this illegal alien was back at the home of the rape victim where he was free to re-victimize her and harm other members of the community,” said Marc Moore, director of ICE’s Dallas field office.

Deportation officers were able to track Perez down and arrested him later that day, Moore said. He remains in custody pending deportation proceedings.

“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event,” the ICE statement read. “Over the past few months ago [sic], Oklahoma County has routinely failed to honor ICE detainers by releasing criminal aliens back into the local community before ICE has the opportunity to take custody.”

Detainers are often used to ask local law enforcement agencies to hold illegal immigrants for up to 48 hours so immigration officers can take them into custody.

“It is unconscionable that someone who is sworn to uphold the law would find it acceptable to release an alleged rapist who is illegally present in the U.S. back into the community when there are other options available under federal immigration law,” Moore said.

In a statement of its own, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office claimed another agency initially arrested Perez based on a complaint and that he was never formally charged with rape.

Sheriff’s spokesman Mark Meyers said Oklahoma County isn’t a sanctuary county and works with ICE, even providing them space in the jail for their agents.

“That’s ridiculous, and that shows the political drive behind this,” Meyers said of the ICE statement. “Oklahoma County has never been considered a sanctuary city or a county,” he said.

The sheriff’s office said local authorities didn’t have a warrant to justify holding Perez but added that ICE was still contacted.

“ICE had an hour and a half to take the individual into custody but did not send anyone to pick up the individual before his scheduled release, and without any legal authority to hold the individual he was released,” the department said in a news release.

The department advised ICE to staff the jail with an agent “to have someone at the facility 24/7 to transport their detainees.”

Bernie Sanders’ freewheeling proposal would also “ban the prosecution of children under the age of 18 in adult courts” for all offenses, apparently including even rape and murder, and would prohibit youth from ever facing prison time for misdemeanors.

The plan additionally would look to cut reduce total “incarcerated population in half” by getting rid of what Sanders’ campaign called “excessive sentencing.”

The unprecedented crime reform initiative comes as ICE officers and workers are also facing a rapidly escalating series of death threats, including protesters menacing their children and shots being fired at their offices several times in the past month, amid a rising tide of anti-ICE rhetoric from the left fueled by congressional Democrats, media voices and presidential hopefuls.

Earlier this month, Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro drew bipartisan condemnation for posting the names of several individuals and businesses who donated to President Trump’s campaign, including individuals who also had donated to Castro. The episode underscored fears that federal registries can be abused for intimidation purposes.

Close to a dozen illegal immigrants, including a man previously convicted of drug charges, were apprehended by Border Patrol agents in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Monday, according to reports.

Fox News host Mark Levin asked Booyens whether Donald Trump did more to address the issue than other presidents, including former President Barack Obama. “No question,” Booyens responded on “Life, Liberty, and Levin,” airing Sunday.

Booyens said that despite all the criticism surrounding ICE, the agency has become a vital partner in combatting sex trafficking.

“These are incredible men and women that help us … incredible people who actually go and keep America’s children safe. This president has empowered them to do so,” he told Levin.

His movie “8 Days” tells the story of a 15-year-old girl who’s forced into sex trafficking after attending a party with her friends. Booyens said the film is available on Netflix and other places.

Booyens claimed that he tried taking his story to CNN and MSNBC but faced “closed doors.” “I say that not to point finger or blame, that’s just a fact. This crime doesn’t ask ‘are you conservative or liberal?'”

Levin asked Booyens whether CNN and MSNBC were too focused on their own “ideological agenda” to cover the issue. “You want to believe they’re too busy to pay attention and yes they are because they’re busy with silly stuff — accusing the president,” Booyens responded.

He also argued that sex trafficking was rooted in sex addiction fueled by mass media. “It is sex addiction that in its core is fueled … it starts with a pornographic culture, soft porn, it’s the objectification of women — which we as a country have done a great job at completely objectifying women.” Specifically, Booyens said, Hollywood was to blame along with the Internet.

The 680 were initially arrested at several food-processing plants in Mississippi for allegedly not having proper documentation to be in the US.

Confirming the release of 300 immigrants, ICE spokesman Bryan Cox told the BBC that those who were not released will be moved to an ICE detention facility and held there.

He said “The 300 released are released from custody, they were placed into proceedings before the federal immigration courts and will have their day in court at a later date.”