Samuel Antonio Maldonado-Erazo, charged with the savage beating death of his three-year-old nephew in Florida, had been released into the country under Biden-era immigration policies despite a prior removal and a final deportation order.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged an immigration detainer against Samuel Antonio Maldonado-Erazo, 28, a Honduran national charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of his three-year-old nephew — a U.S. citizen — in Escambia County, Florida.
According to local authorities, Maldonado-Erazo brought the child to work with him on March 4 and ignored signs the boy was in extreme distress. Someone called 911 to report the child was in cardiac arrest. The child was transported to a hospital where he died.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons described injuries consistent with sustained abuse. The child suffered at least 17 strikes to the head, extensive bruising, intentional burns, a broken collarbone, a transected pancreas from blunt trauma, and several broken ribs — one of which was completely detached from his spine.
ICE lodged a detainer on March 5, the day after Maldonado-Erazo’s arrest, requesting that local authorities notify ICE before releasing him from custody.
A History of Removal and Re-Entry
According to DHS, Maldonado-Erazo first entered the United States illegally in August 2021 and was immediately removed. In November 2021 — three months later — he illegally re-entered the country, a federal felony. Under Biden administration policies, he was released rather than detained. In May 2023, an immigration judge issued a final order of removal.
Despite that order, Maldonado-Erazo remained in the United States.
“This crime is absolutely sickening and underscores the importance of local authorities working with ICE to remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American communities,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “The Biden administration should have never released this monster into our communities.”
DHS used the case to call for continued cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE in honoring immigration detainers — a practice that sanctuary jurisdictions have resisted — arguing that detainer compliance is a critical tool for keeping individuals with criminal histories and active deportation orders from remaining in American communities.
The case remains under active investigation. Maldonado-Erazo faces aggravated manslaughter charges in Escambia County, Florida.
For more information on ICE enforcement operations and the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office, visit ice.gov or contact the VOICE Office at 1-855-488-6423.
