The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on May 8 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer with Flathead County officials requesting they not release Wualter Jesus Travieso Soto, a Venezuelan national charged with sexually assaulting a child under 16.
According to the DHS release, Soto illegally entered the United States in 2023. He took custody of his girlfriend’s three children after she died in a car accident in 2024. The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office began investigating in May 2025 after the girlfriend’s sister found pictures and videos of Soto kissing the eldest daughter.
The victim told investigators that Soto raped her multiple times. He was arrested on Feb. 1, 2026, and is being held in Flathead County jail with a $200,000 bail.
Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis criticized Biden’s Administration, saying, “[Soto] would not be in this country in the first place if it weren’t for the Biden Administration’s disastrous catch and release policies that allowed him into our country.”
The DHS serves as the federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement and border security. Its component, ICE, carries out interior enforcement operations, including issuing detainers to local jurisdictions holding criminal illegal aliens, according to the department’s website.