On July 27, a Lansdale woman was asleep in her bed when she awoke to find a man kneeling on top of her, speaking in Spanish and saying “I’m sorry” in English.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the woman tried to go downstairs, but the intruder stopped her and pushed her against a wall. When she attempted to escape, he placed his hands around her neck. As she continued to struggle, the man put her “in a chokehold, again applying pressure to her throat,” the affidavit stated.
The victim reported she could not breathe and feared for her life. She fought back, striking her assailant in the eye and pushing him down the stairs, then called 911.
By the time police arrived, the man had fled—taking her iPad.
Later, around 10:30 a.m., the victim notified police that her iPad had been activated and was pinging near Main and Wood streets in Lansdale. Officers responded and found a Hispanic man, Jonathan Isaias Avila-Arevalo, who matched the description of the suspect and had a visible bruise near his eye. They recovered the victim’s iPad from his backpack.
Avila-Arevalo, a homeless illegal alien from Guatemala, was charged with burglary, strangulation, and aggravated assault, among other offenses, according to court records. A public defender stated that Avila-Arevalo had no prior criminal history.
The case has renewed debate over Montgomery County’s sanctuary status and its policy of not cooperating with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has increased enforcement under the Trump administration.
In June, the federal government listed Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester counties as “sanctuary” jurisdictions, though the list was later removed from its website.
Montgomery County Commissioners Neil Makhija and Jamila Winder have expressed opposition to cooperating with ICE, while Republican Commissioner Tom DiBello has called for local law enforcement to assist federal immigration efforts.
“The Democrats support making it harder for federal agents to enforce the law,” DiBello said.
While the county has refused to aid ICE in detaining undocumented immigrants, it has opened a new homeless shelter in Lansdale.
Asked about the Lansdale incident involving an undocumented immigrant, county spokesperson Megan Alt said, “In accordance with our policy, Montgomery County does not comment on individual criminal matters.”
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, described the attack as “horrible” and said the victim was “brave and lucky.”
“There is no question that the sanctuary policies of Montgomery County undermine public safety for all residents, immigrant and citizen alike,” Vaughan said. “The problem is that county officers are not allowed to cooperate or share information with ICE to prevent individuals like the man who attacked this woman from being released back into the community.
“Because Montgomery County jail officers are not allowed to hold criminals for ICE, and apparently do not give ICE sufficient time to pick up criminal aliens after arrest, these individuals end up being released and have the opportunity to prey on residents.”
Vaughan added that ICE records she obtained show 27 cases in the past two-and-a-half years where criminal aliens were released due to Montgomery County’s sanctuary policies.
“Some had pending charges for burglary, illegal drugs, assault with a weapon, and child cruelty,” she said. “This is not theoretical. It seems to happen about once a month.”
Former Montgomery County Commissioner and District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. accused county Democrats of “making all Montgomery County residents into potential victims of opportunity.”
“What incentive is there for the wanted illegal [immigrant] to not rape, rob, and murder others under this policy?” Castor said. “Moreover, intentionally standing in the way of law enforcement doing their jobs—specifically federal immigration agents—might be considered aiding and abetting a fugitive. That is a state and federal crime. If I were back in the prosecutor’s office, I would be looking very closely at criminal charges against anyone who obstructs apprehending violent perpetrators.”
Castor lost the district attorney’s race in 2015 to current District Attorney Kevin Steele, a Democrat. Steele declined to state his position on ICE cooperation.
“Instead of declining to comment, the commissioners should admit that they made a mistake,” said former County Commissioner Rick Buckman. “For the safety of Montgomery County residents, they should be cooperating with ICE and turning over this individual. He has allegedly violated numerous laws, starting with illegal entry into this country in Texas and culminating—hopefully—with this horrendous crime in Lansdale. This is a sad but predictable result of the commissioners’ dangerous policy.”
Montgomery County GOP Chairman Christian Nascimento also criticized the policy.
“The Democratic commissioners’ refusal to cooperate with the federal government is clearly making Montco less safe,” Nascimento said. “Their focus is on an ultra-liberal set of talking points, not on the needs of Montgomery County citizens. Their inexplicable hatred of Trump leads them to oppose anything he supports—even if the end result is harmful to their constituents.”
Several days after this article was published, Montgomery County spokesperson Megan Alt sent this statement: “The Montgomery County Correctional Facility, like other neighboring counties, requires all jurisdictions, including the federal government, to provide a judicial warrant before it holds people solely for transfer to another agency or jurisdiction. This preserves the system of checks and balances that is the foundation of our democracy.”
However, the ICE website notes that the federal agency is not required to obtain judicial warrants for apprehensions.