Immigration officers in Chicago arrested a dangerous felon and child sexual predator from Guatemala who was released by Illinois’ state officials despite calls to turn him over to federal authorities.
Erik Giovanni-Quiroa, 41, has convictions for aggravated sexual abuse of a child and aggravated battery with a firearm. He has been in the country illegally for nearly 25 years, and he spent years in prison on the taxpayer’ dime.
Even more alarming, Giovanni-Quiroa only received a three-year sentence for aggravated sexual abuse of a 5-year-old. He was convicted of the sex crime in 2025 after serving time for aggravated battery.
On April 22, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement encountered Giovanni-Quiroa on the streets. They were forced to go out and find him after the Illinois Department of Corrections denied an ICE detainer request and released him into the community.
“Thank you to our ICE officers who arrested this pedophile so he cannot perpetrate more heinous crimes against children,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security shared on social media.
.@ICEgov has arrested an illegal alien PEDOPHILE after he was RELEASED from jail by @GovPritzker and Illinois sanctuary politicians.
In 2025, Erik Giovanni-Quiroa was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a 5-YEAR-OLD.
Thank you to our ICE officers who arrested this pedophile… pic.twitter.com/VxfHDGeZoo
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) May 1, 2026
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Chicago officers conducted a targeted vehicle stop, but Giovanni-Quiroa tried to evade arrest. He ignored lawful commands and attempted to flee in his vehicle.
“ICE Chicago officers finished the job Illinois refused to do,” ICE officials said in a news release. “In non-sanctuary jurisdictions, law enforcement officials honor ICE detainers and transfer criminal illegal aliens to ICE custody for detention and deportation.”
It’s yet another example of Illinois’ asinine sanctuary policies that put criminals back on the streets, DHS officials said. State authorities refuse to work with ICE and transfer already jailed immigrants into federal custody. Instead, they let them walk free pending trial or their release from prison.
“It is shameful that Governor Pritzker and his Illinois sanctuary politicians chose to RELEASE a pedophile from jail back into our communities,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement announcing his arrest.
ICE officials described Giovanni-Quiroa as a “dangerous criminal illegal alien and child sex abuser.”
Based on DHS records, Giovanni-Quiroa illegally entered the country in 2002—meaning his immigration status has been ignored for nearly 25 years. That’s not counting his criminal history.
Fox News Digital reported Giovanni-Quiroa has been a beneficiary of the Illinois TRUST Act, which prohibits the use of state and local resources for most civil immigration enforcement purposes.
During ICE’s Operation Midway Blitz last year, Attorney General Kwame Raoul published a memo reiterating key provisions of the law as a “refresher for Illinois law enforcement agencies.”
Raoul noted “deportation and removability are matters of civil law, not criminal law [and] whether an individual is lawfully present in the United States is a question of federal civil immigration law.”
Giovanni-Quiroa has a criminal history that dates back 15 years, while U.S. taxpayers continue to foot the bill. In 2011, he was convicted for aggravated battery with a firearm and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
It didn’t take long for Giovanni-Quiroa to reoffend. In 2025, he was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a 5-year-old child, DHS said. A judge only gave him a three-year prison sentence despite his previous criminal conviction.
ICE also lodged an immigration detainer with the Illinois Department of Corrections, but it was not honored.
“ICE law enforcement arrested this pedophile who sexually abused a child,” Bis said. “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 initially refused to stop and posed a risk to the public before being detained by ICE. DHS officials said he remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive full due process.
“The safety of our community was put at risk due to the failure to honor an immigration detainer,” said ICE Chicago acting Field Office Director Tammy Marich. “Thankfully, no one was hurt, but none of this should have happened. Detainers allow us to safely take custody of criminal illegal aliens with no danger or threat to the public.”
In December 2025, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons sent a letter to Attorney General Raoul, requesting state officials honor ICE arrest detainers of the more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens in the state’s custody.
The group includes murderers, sexual predators, and those convicted of or charged with weapons offenses.
In many Blue States, including California, Virginia, New Jersey, Oregon and others, sanctuary politicians have passed laws that bar local law enforcement and jails from cooperating with ICE.
Illinois state law also requires releasing detained migrants rather than handing them over to immigration enforcement without a federal warrant.
According to public records of arrests obtained by America First Legal, in 2025, Cook County released hundreds of jailed illegal immigrants federal authorities wanted to take into custody.
“When sanctuary politicians ignore ICE detainers, they are protecting criminal illegal aliens at the expense of American citizens,” DHS officials said. “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.”
