In a shocking turn of events, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended an undocumented immigrant who had been previously released into the community. This individual is accused of abducting a 4-year-old girl from a laundromat in New York, as reported by sources.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Carlos Corte-Corte, a 38-year-old from Ecuador, was detained by ICE on March 31. This action followed an alarming incident on March 28 at Laundry Kingdom in Patchogue, where he allegedly kidnapped the young girl. He has now been placed into removal proceedings.

Lauren Bis, the Acting Assistant Secretary, expressed her concerns in a statement to the New York Post, saying, “This three-time deported criminal illegal alien, Carlos Corte-Corte, kidnapped an innocent four-year-old girl from a laundromat on Long Island. New York sanctuary politicians chose to release this kidnapper from jail to prey on more innocent children rather than cooperate with ICE law enforcement.”

Bis further urged, “Sanctuary politicians must stop putting politics above public safety. This type of insanity leads to more crimes and more innocent victims.”

The incident unfolded at the Laundry Kingdom in Patchogue, as reported by the Suffolk County Police Department. They stated, “While a woman was with her two children at a laundromat, located at 138 East Main St., Carlos-Corte, who was unknown to the woman, led her 4-year-old daughter out the back exit of the laundromat, at 12:08 p.m.” on March 28.

The Suffolk County Police Department said that, “While a woman was with her two children at a laundromat, located at 138 East Main St., Carlos-Corte, who was unknown to the woman, led her 4-year-old daughter out the back exit of the laundromat, at 12:08 p.m.” on March 28. 

“Her mother reported her missing, and patrol officers responded to the scene, where they reviewed surveillance video and began canvassing the area. During the search, the mother located her daughter in the children’s play area of the Patchogue-Medford Library, located at 54-60 East Main St. A patrol officer then located Corte near the laundromat and took him into custody,” police added. 

Corte-Corte was charged with second-degree kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, Illinois, in January 2025. The agency rearrested Corte-Corte on March 31, according to the New York Post. (Christopher Dilts / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The day after his arrest, a Suffolk County district judge freed Corte-Corte on supervised release with a GPS monitor, the New York Post reported. 

The newspaper said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney disagreed with the judge’s decision and added that, “I think if you look at the facts of the case, clearly they’re concerning.” 

“He thought the girl lived alone without parents,” the New York Post quoted Corte-Corte’s public defender as saying in court. “He took her to the library and told an employee there as such, but there was a language barrier. It seems to be a mistake.”   

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer’s badge and gear. (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for further comment.