US Immigration Officer Saved San Bernardino “Gun Supplier”

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Details have emerged that a US immigration official blocked Homeland Security agents from apprehending the “gun supplier” of the San Bernardino shooter the day after the attack, the Daily Mail reports. Irene Martin prevented officers from detaining Enrique Marquez, who was to be interviewed together with his wife, Mariya Chernykh. Martin then lied to department investigators about the fact, and is not likely to face consequences.

Marquez was sought for questioning after his friends, Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people in San Bernardino. The FBI learnt that Marquez allegedly supplied the weapons to the couple and dispatched a team from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), where Marquez and Chernykh were being questioned.

But the team could not gain access to the suspects, as Martin allegedly refused the officers entry and delayed them when they were finally given permission, a government report shows.

Marquez has since been charged with several terrorism-related charges related to the San Bernardino massacre. Despite this, Martin is set to avoid punishment and has only been transferred to another office.  

“’We concluded that the USCIS Field Office Director at the San Bernardino office improperly delayed HSI agents from conducting a lawful and routine law enforcement action, but when the Field Office Director elevated the situation to her supervisors, the situation was corrected. We found that the contract security personnel improperly prevented HSI personnel from entering the building. Finally, we found that there was no attempt by ICE leadership or supervisory personnel within HSI to attempt to retaliate against the individuals who notified HSGAC of the situation,” the report reads.