ICE Arrests Violent Illegal Alien Sex Offender After Governor Pritzker and Illinois Sanctuary Politicians Released Him From Jail Into the Community

Erik Giovanni-Quiroa was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a 5-year-old child

WASHINGTON — The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Chicago arrested a criminal illegal alien who was released by Illinois sanctuary politicians despite charges for child sex abuse.

Erik Giovanni-Quiroa, a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala, has a criminal history that includes a conviction in 2011 for aggravated battery with a firearm, for which he was sentenced to 16 years in prison, and a conviction in 2025 for aggravated sexual abuse of a 5-year-old child, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison. ICE lodged a detainer with the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), but Governor J.B. Pritzker and his fellow Illinois sanctuary politicians refused to cooperate with ICE and RELEASED this pedophile from jail into the community.

On April 22, 2026, ICE conducted a targeted vehicle stop and arrested him at large in the community. Giovanni-Quiroa again endangered the public by refusing to stop when given lawful commands and attempting to flee in his vehicle. Officers eventually safely arrested him, and he remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive full due process.

“It is shameful that Governor Pritzker and his Illinois sanctuary politicians chose to RELEASE a pedophile from jail back into our communities,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “ICE law enforcement arrested this pedophile who sexually abused a 5-year-old child. Governor Pritzker must end this insanity and stop releasing pedophiles into our communities. Sanctuary politicians protect criminal illegal aliens and allow them to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims.” 

Giovanni-Quiroa illegally entered the country in 2002.

In December 2025, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons sent a letter to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul calling on him to put the safety of Americans first and honor ICE arrest detainers of the more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens in the state’s custody, including murderers, sexual predators, and those convicted of or charged with weapons offenses.

When sanctuary politicians ignore ICE detainers, they are protecting criminal illegal aliens at the expense of American citizens. These are criminals with prior convictions for rape, murder, drug trafficking and other dangerous crimes, and instead of holding them for ICE, sanctuary politicians release them back into our communities. 

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