ICE lodges detainer for man charged in Charlotte double homicide of two teenagers

An ICE "arrest detainer" (often just called an immigration detainer) is a written request from ICE to a jail, prison, or police agency asking them to:

1. Tell ICE before they plan to release a person ICE believes is deportable, and
2. Keep that person in custody for up to 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) after they would otherwise be released, so ICE has time to come pick them up for immigration arrest and possible removal.

It is a civil immigration request, not a new criminal charge or a conviction. ICE’s own policy says detainers are “only requests” and do not themselves require local agencies to change bail, sentencing, or other decisions, and the person must be released if ICE does not assume custody within the 48‑hour window. Courts have held that holding someone longer than that, or treating a detainer as mandatory, can create constitutional and liability problems for local agencies.

ICE detainers are generally not legally mandatory for local jails under federal law. They are requests:

• ICE’s own guidance says detainers are “only requests” that “don’t impose any obligations” on state or local agencies.
• Federal courts, including the Third Circuit in Galarza v. Szalczyk, have held that local agencies are not required by federal law to comply and can be liable if they hold someone without proper legal authority.

Whether a specific jail must honor detainers depends on state law and local policy:

• Many states and counties choose to honor detainers (sometimes fully, sometimes only for serious crimes).
• Some localities adopt “sanctuary” or “limited‑cooperation” policies that restrict when they will hold people solely for ICE.
• In North Carolina specifically, House Bill 10, effective Dec. 1, 2024, requires sheriffs to cooperate with ICE detainers in defined circumstances by bringing the person before a judicial official, who can issue a state court order to hold the person for ICE.

“Sanctuary” policies therefore affect compliance mainly by limiting when local officials will honor detainers above the minimum their own state law requires.

DHS does not name specific counties in the Jan. 14, 2026 press release, but the broader record makes clear which North Carolina jurisdictions and policies are being referenced:

• DHS and DOJ have for years criticized the “sanctuary policies” of the Mecklenburg County and Buncombe County sheriffs for refusing to honor ICE detainers, describing those policies as “reckless” in a 2020 U.S. Attorney’s Office release.
• In 2024 and 2025 debates over House Bill 10, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden was repeatedly singled out by state lawmakers and DHS‑aligned officials as a leading sheriff who had stopped honoring detainers and described his office as a type of sanctuary jurisdiction.
• DHS’s November 2025 Operation Charlotte’s Web releases and media appearances by Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin tied the claim that “nearly 1,400 detainers” weren’t honored to North Carolina jails generally, with particular focus on the Charlotte area.
• A detailed fact‑check by WRAL/PolitiFact in November 2025 reviewed McLaughlin’s 1,400‑detainer claim and found no evidence that North Carolina sheriffs were still refusing to cooperate after HB 10 took effect; Mecklenburg and Wake sheriffs said they were complying with the new law.

So, while the DHS article uses broad language about “North Carolina’s sanctuary politicians,” the main policies historically at issue were the earlier, more limited‑cooperation detainer practices of the Mecklenburg and Buncombe County sheriffs, which state law (HB 10) has since constrained.

Operation Charlotte’s Web is a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration‑enforcement surge focused on the Charlotte, North Carolina region and, to a lesser extent, other NC cities. Announced on Nov. 15, 2025, it was ordered by the Trump administration and led by ICE with support from Customs and Border Protection (including Border Patrol) and other DHS components.

Activities described by DHS and local reporting include:

• Deploying additional federal immigration officers to the Charlotte area and elsewhere in NC.
• Targeting non‑citizens DHS labels “criminal illegal aliens,” especially those it says were released after detainers went un‑honored.
• Conducting large at‑large arrest operations in neighborhoods, parking lots, and other public places, as well as taking custody of people leaving local jails.
• Arresting hundreds of people for alleged immigration violations, including many with prior criminal convictions for offenses ranging from DUI and domestic violence to burglary and assault. DHS reported about 130 arrests in the first weekend, over 250 by Nov. 19, and more than 425 by early December.

The operation drew criticism from state and local officials and civil‑rights advocates who said the tactics created fear, racial profiling, and confusion about whether local sheriffs were actually refusing to work with ICE.

The Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office is an ICE office that supports people harmed by crimes with an immigration link (for example, when the alleged offender is a non‑citizen who may be removable).

Key services:

• Single point of contact: A toll‑free hotline where victims, family members, or their representatives can ask questions and get referrals.
• Help understanding immigration enforcement: Explaining how ICE detention and removal work and, when allowed, sharing additional criminal or immigration history about the offender.
• Custody notifications: Helping victims register with DHS‑VINE, an automated system that provides phone/text/email alerts when a non‑citizen offender is booked into or released from ICE custody, or removed from the U.S.
• Referrals to services: Connecting callers to social‑service professionals, victim‑services programs, and local resources.
• Victim‑impact opportunities: Explaining in which immigration proceedings victims may be able to submit a victim‑impact statement.

How to access:

• Toll‑free hotline: 1‑855‑48‑VOICE (1‑855‑488‑6423), 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Eastern Time.
• Victims and certain representatives must attest that they are victims or acting on a victim’s behalf in order to receive case‑related information.

Based on publicly available information as of mid‑January 2026:

• Arrest and charges: Charlotte‑Mecklenburg Police identified 22‑year‑old Aristides Eli Orellana‑Ramirez as a suspect in the Dec. 20, 2025 shootings that killed 16‑year‑old Bravlio Galeano Ayala and 18‑year‑old Samir Canales Molina. CMPD obtained warrants and arrested him on Jan. 8, 2026. He is charged with murder (in Ayala’s death) and discharging a firearm into occupied property (an apartment building on Farmhurst Drive).
• Custody status: Mecklenburg County court records and local news reports state that he was denied bond and is being held in the Mecklenburg County jail with an ICE detainer lodged against him.
• Hearings / case stage: CMPD’s Jan. 9 case update and subsequent coverage describe him as arrested and formally charged, but do not list specific future hearing dates. News stories emphasize that the homicide investigation is “active and ongoing,” and that no separate murder charge has yet been filed specifically in Molina’s death.

No reliable public reporting yet provides a detailed docket of his scheduled court appearances beyond the fact that he is in pre‑trial custody on the listed charges.