Seattle-based First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd criticized court and jail officials in King and Kitsap counties for releasing a 44-year-old Mexican citizen and not turning him over to immigration after his arrests in the two counties.
“Even with his extensive criminal and immigration history, local jails released this criminal alien rather than turning him over to immigration authorities, which allowed him to allegedly commit rape,” Floyd said in an Aug. 27 U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. “Sanctuary policies have a consequence, and this is it. Fortunately, we were able to intervene this time and prevent this criminal alien from being released – again.”
A King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson and Kitsap County Prosecutor Chad Enright said they followed state and county laws and could not hold the Mexican resident for federal civil immigration purposes.
“While still adhering to federal law, King County Code 2.15 Immigrant, Refugees and Language Access Ordinance (KCC 2.15) prevents the use of county funds and resources on federal immigration enforcement and outlines the steps the county uses to protect immigrants and refugees seeking services from the county, or who are victims or witnesses of crime,” said Casey McNerthney, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson, in an Aug. 28 email in response to the DOJ press release.
Enright issued a similar response.
“Kitsap County Jail could detain or release him only on a lawful criminal basis, such as a court order, sentence, bail condition, or valid criminal warrant,” Enright said in an Aug. 28 email. “It could not hold him solely for federal civil immigration purposes when state law did not authorize that detention. Compliance with those legal requirements was mandatory, not discretionary. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington is aware of the limits Washington law places on local jurisdictions and of our obligation to follow state law.”
The DOJ press release featured two headlines:
• “Illegal alien from Mexico released after 2025 arrest for DUI, is arrested in 2026 for escape, theft, and rape”
• “Arrests in King and Kitsap Counties for DUI related crimes, but defendant was not turned over to immigration authorities and was arrested for new crimes”
The DOJ charged Isidro Ocampo-Cayetano Aug. 27 in U.S. District Court in Seattle with returning to the U.S. following removal.
According to the DOJ, between 2007 and 2013, Ocampo-Cayetano was arrested and removed from the United States five times. Most of the removals were triggered by local arrests for crimes related to DUI. He returned to the U.S. at an unknown time following the 2013 removal.
In January 2025, Ocampo-Cayetano was arrested in King County based on a Kitsap County warrant for failing to appear on charges of DUI, driving with license suspended, and an ignition interlock violation, according to the DOJ. Ocampo-Cayetano was not turned over to immigration authorities.
On Nov. 2, 2025, Ocampo-Cayetano was arrested by Federal Way Police for second-degree rape. Six months later, in April 2026, he was arrested a second time and booked into the King County jail for escape, theft and a warrant for rape.
Federal prosecutors got a judicial warrant to get Ocampo-Cayetano into federal custody, and he made his initial appearance on that warrant Aug. 26, according to the DOJ.
“In each of the two separate felony cases that were referred to King County prosecutors – a 2025 rape case and a 2026 escape case – the defendant was charged and prosecutors asked the Court to hold him on bail, and the court record shows that King County prosecutors acted in line with state law, the county code, and the court’s Rules of Professional Conduct,” McNerthney said.
Enright said Kitsap County Jail was required to follow Washington law, including the Keep Washington Working Act.
“This law limits the use of local law-enforcement and jail resources to enforce federal civil immigration law,” Enright said. “Federal case law also prohibits the federal government from commandeering local law-enforcement resources for that purpose.”
Enright said public safety depends on effective cooperation among federal, state and local agencies, but each must act within its lawful authority.
“The Kitsap County Jail could not disregard state law or detain someone without a valid legal basis,” Enright said.
Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson ordered Ocampo-Cayetano detained pending future hearings. Return after removal is punishable by up to two years in prison.
The federal case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (HSI-ICE).
