The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has requested Miami-Dade County officials not to release Tomas Reymundo Brito, an individual from Guatemala charged in a hit-and-run incident that critically injured a 74-year-old woman. ICE lodged a detainer with the Miami-Dade Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center the same day Brito was arrested.
The incident occurred on the morning of August 2, when 74-year-old Geraldine Byrd was struck twice by a vehicle after stopping to open her driveway gate, leaving her critically injured and on life support. Police arrested Brito shortly after the crash; he admitted to drinking alcohol beforehand. He faces charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury and driving without a license.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, "This criminal illegal alien from Guatemala is charged with hit-and-run after a drunk-driving accident that sent a 74-year-old woman to the hospital in critical condition in Miami-Dade County." Mullin added, "ICE is asking officials in Miami-Dade County to cooperate with us and not release this criminal from jail, and to turn him over to ICE custody so we can remove him from our country."