ICE agent
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
An illegal alien convicted of assaulting his wife was released by the city of Philadelphia, and shortly thereafter rearrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Guillermo Leon-Sandoval, 35, was charged by Philadelphia police with unlawful bodily injury, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and false imprisonment.

A federal judge then signed an active detainer and a criminal arrest order, but city authorities did not honor it.

After he was released, ICE rearrested Leon-Sandoval, who had been previously convicted of illegal entry in September 2014.

"The local government's goal of making Philadelphia a sanctuary city will not deter us from our mission of making communities safer nationwide and honoring immigration laws," Gregory Brawley, acting field officer director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia, said in a statement. "In this case, the individual has been charged with recent violent crimes. We will continue to pursue individuals such as this for arrest and removal."

Philadelphia said it would turn over immigrants to ICE only if the agency has a warrant signed by a judge, but now it refuses to respect even that.

It is one such sanctuary city that has opted to limit cooperation with federal officers over the enforcement of immigration law.

The Justice Department has threated to cut millions of dollars in federal grants to cities if they don't cooperate with immigration officials.

"I commend ICE for arresting this individual pursuant to a federal judicial arrest warrant," U.S. Attorney William McSwain said in a statement. "The U.S. Attorney's Office is committed to enforcing federal law, including, of course, our immigration laws. We will continue working with all law enforcement agencies to keep our community safe."