Family Loses 7-Year-Old Girl Forever After Detainer Is Lifted on Non-Citizen: Police
The article discusses the tragic case of Joel Enrique Gonzalez Chacin, a Venezuelan national who had a detainer placed on him by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this year but was released just two and a half months before being involved in a fatal drunk-driving incident. On December 1, Chacin allegedly ran a red light and crashed into a vehicle, resulting in the death of 7-year-old Ivory Smith and severe injuries to her mother, Christina Quainoo. Following the accident, another ICE detainer was issued after Chacin was arrested for intoxicated manslaughter.
Chacin had previously faced charges for assaulting a family member, during which an ICE detainer was also placed. However, this detainer was lifted when he served a brief jail sentence, allowing him to return to the community. The article highlights concerns regarding the immigration detention system and accountability,suggesting that,had the detainer remained in place,the tragedy involving the Smith family could have been avoided. It calls for stronger measures to prevent such incidents and protect innocent lives, especially considering the broader implications for immigration policy.
Just months ago, Joel Enrique Gonzalez Chacin had a detainer placed upon him by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
That detainer was removed, according to KRIV — and just two-and-a-half months later, the illegal immigrant was involved in an alleged drunk-driving accident that claimed the life of a 7-year-old girl and left her mother in serious condition.
According to the Houston, Texas, station, Chacin was arrested for intoxicated manslaughter after the Dec. 1 accident in Harris County. Another ICE hold was placed on him.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston lodged an immigration detainer Dec. 4 with the Harris County (Texas) Jail on Joel Enrique Gonzalez Chacin, a 41-year-old Venezuelan national, following his arrest for intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle,” ICE’s Houston office said in a statement.
“At this time, no additional details can be released,”
The 41-year-old suspect reportedly T-boned a vehicle driven by Christina Quainoo at 2:45 a.m., according to Fox News. Chacin allegedly ran a red light, KPRC-TV reported.
Chacin took photos of the scene “instead of helping” and drove away, authorities said, Fox reported.
Ivory Smith, Christina’s daughter a 2nd-grade student at a Houston school, was also in the car. She was killed in the accident.
The mother, despite being severely injured, was released from the hospital by Dec. 12, Fox News reported.
However, the mother continues to “endure immense physical and emotional pain” due to the accident, the family said in a statement.
🚨 Harris County, TX: On Sunday, Joel Enrique Gonzalez Chacin was arrested for Intoxication Manslaughter with a Vehicle for the death of 7-year-old Ivory Smith.
He has an immigration detainer hold.
Gonzalez Chacin is accused of running a red light while driving drunk, slamming… pic.twitter.com/RYOZ2QQbIw
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) December 4, 2024
Most infuriatingly, however? Chacin already had a detainer placed against him earlier this year.
In June, he allegedly assaulted a family member. At that point, an ICE detainer — meaning that he was being held for immigration violations in addition to whatever crimes he may have been accused of committing — was placed against him.
“The felony assault charge against him ended up being dropped to a misdemeanor and, after pleading guilty, Chacin was sentenced to 113 days in jail, which he had already served, and was released that same day,” Fox News reported.
“The ICE detainer against him was also lifted that same day for an unknown reason.”
Andy Kahan of Crime Stoppers, however, said that it was simply part of how this works.
“He was taken into custody in June, there was immediately an ICE hold on him — he couldn’t bond out,” Kahan told KRIV.
“The reason it was 113 days was because that was his time served. So basically, he pleaded guilty and walked out the door because the ICE hold was lifted the day he pleaded guilty.”
It sounds an awful lot like this was a way to get a quick plea deal and thus get him out of a clogged court system — even though, judging by the seriousness of the charges and the fact that he wasn’t a U.S. national, this ought to have been a case that, if the details were found to be accurate by a jury, called for deportation.
“Why was that hold lifted when he discharged his sentence? If he had kept that hold on him, no ifs, ands or buts, you have a 7-year-old girl who would be alive today and a mother who wasn’t seriously injured,” Kahan said.
“Why do we have holds in place if they fail to keep dangerous individuals off our streets?” the Smith family said in a statement.
“The laws in Texas should be designed to protect innocent lives, not to provide loopholes for those who repeatedly disregard them. This tragedy is a stark reminder that we need stronger accountability and justice to prevent further suffering for families like ours.”
Not just in Texas, but in the United States at large, period. With a new administration, one hopes that there are far fewer Joel Enrique Gonzalez Chacins to deal with — because they’re kept on detainer and deported for their crimes, not let free.
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