ICE denies hold request, allowing for MS-13 murder suspect to enroll in public school
Work has begun in Annapolis to change Maryland laws after a WBFF investigation found an MS-13 gang member who was a murder suspect was allowed to enroll in Baltimore-area public high schools.
This comes as Project Baltimore continues to learn more about the criminal investigation into Walter Martinez. Turns out, local police asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement for help but ICE said no.
"I think the concern is not just in that part of the state. I think the concern is something that we, collectively, as Marylanders feel," stated Maryland Governor Wes Moore during an interview last week with WBFF.
When Gov. Wes Moore took office nearly two years ago he made his intentions clear.
"We have said that public safety is going to be our number one priority," he explained.
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Days before Moore was sworn in as Maryland's Governor in January 2023, Aberdeen Police arrested Martinez for allegedly murdering 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton. At the time, Project Baltimore learned Martinez was attending Edgewood High School in Harford County – even though, according to charging documents, he was an MS-13 gang member and murder suspect who was in the country illegally. And no one at the school was alerted about Martinez's past.
"There needs to be something done," said Delegate Nino Mangione who represents Baltimore County, last week on WCBM radio. "I'm going to keep the audience up to speed as we pre-file this legislation. Then the legislative session starts in January."
Right now, State Delegates like Mangione are drafting legislation to give law enforcement officers the ability to prohibit students from attending school in person if they are suspected of committing a felony. Instead, until the investigation is complete, the student would be educated outside of the classroom – such as virtual learning. Or, if the student does attend class in person, the school should be made aware of any safety concerns, so the student body can be better protected.
Project Baltimore asked Gov. Moore if he could support similar legislation.
"We will work with anybody to be able to make sure that our kids are safe in their schools, that our people are safe in their houses of worship, that people are safe where they go to work every single day," said Moore. "And if adjustments to the law have to be made, we are going to be active participants and making sure that the right laws come on board that are keeping our people safe."
As lawmakers in Annapolis promise to work to keep students safe, WBFF is learning more about how Martinez, after he killed Kayla, was able to enroll in public school.
When Kayla was murdered on July 27, 2022, Police quickly identified Martinez as the main suspect. Since he was in the country illegally, and a known MS-13 gang member, Aberdeen Police requested that ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, hold Martinez until the investigation was complete. But ICE denied the request.
"That is my understanding of what transpired," Alison Healey, the Harford County State's Attorney, told Project Baltimore. "My understanding is that because he was a juvenile, they were not willing to detain him."
In other words, Aberdeen Police knew Martinez was dangerous and requested that ICE hold him during the investigation but ICE denied the request. Due to that decision, the 16-year-old who entered the US as an unaccompanied minor was placed in the care of Child Protective Services, which allowed him to enroll in public school.
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In a statement to Project Baltimore ICE explained, "Martinez was a juvenile who had not been charged with any crime. With no material change to the conditions of his immigration status, ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations) Baltimore had no legal grounds for detaining Martinez at that time."
"I think the best thing that the public can take from all of this is that this system all the way around from juvenile, from juvenile justice to immigration needs to work better," said Healey. "We need to be holding juveniles more accountable and have better laws to be able to address situations like this."
"Do you think this was a safety violation that put a student like that into a public school?" Project Baltimore's Chris Papst asked Gov. Moore. Martinez was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 70 years in prison.
"I think people need to feel safe, inside of their schools," he replied. "And people need to be, students need to feel safe inside of their classrooms. And when that is not happening, it has to be addressed."
