Julio Cesar Xocop-Vicente, a citizen of Guatemala, was taken into custody on Jan. 12 during a targeted enforcement operation, despite the city’s alleged refusal to cooperate with federal law enforcement, ICE said. The agency said he is currently held in ICE custody, waiting to be deported.
The teenager, Amber Paris, was struck by a vehicle on Nov. 24 when Xocop-Vicente sped through a residential neighborhood and ran a stop sign. The impact sent Paris to a local hospital, where she was placed in a medically induced coma. She succumbed to her injuries on Dec. 18.
Xocop-Vicente fled on foot immediately after the crash. Local law enforcement arrested him the following day and charged him with driving without a valid license, reckless driving, and felony hit-and-run.
However, local authorities released Xocop-Vicente on bond before federal immigration officials could file a detainer. The situation became more complicated when local prosecutors dismissed the driving-without-a-license charge on Dec. 2 while Paris remained hospitalized.
"My heart is with Amber's family — and although nothing can ease the pain of losing a child, ICE will continue arresting and removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from North Carolina and across the country," said Todd Lyons, director of ICE. "Sanctuary policies have real consequences, and this is one of them. It's heartbreaking, but this tragedy was preventable. ICE isn't waiting for another tragedy to take action; we are out on the streets every day to arrest and remove public safety threats so this doesn't happen to another child."
The agency said this was not Xocop-Vicente's first brush with the law. He was convicted in 2023 of driving under the influence and driving without a valid license. His criminal history also includes a prior arrest for assault on a female.
The federal announcement attributes the man's continued presence in the country to what it characterizes as Charlotte's sanctuary policies.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles's administration did not cooperate with federal enforcement, which the agency says allowed Xocop-Vicente to remain free after his first arrest and conviction.
"This is also the second time that Mayor Lyles' Charlotte has allowed this criminal illegal alien to walk free and avoid deportation after an arrest," the press release states.
Federal authorities indicate that the Charlotte situation extends beyond one case. Nearly 1,400 ICE detainers across North Carolina have gone unacknowledged by local authorities, resulting in the release of individuals the federal agency identifies as criminal aliens into North Carolina communities.
In response to what federal authorities described as public safety concerns in Charlotte, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established Operation Charlotte's Web on Nov. 15, 2025. The initiative directed law enforcement resources to the city to locate and apprehend individuals authorities say were living in the country illegally who had criminal records.
DHS Law Enforcement personnel arrested more than 1,300 individuals during Operation Charlotte's Web.
Among those arrested during the operation were individuals with serious criminal histories, including Armando Hernandez Martinez, whom the release identifies as a citizen of Mexico convicted of homicide and cruelty toward a child.
Other criminal illegal aliens include Diego Murillo-Perez, identified as a Mexican national with multiple convictions for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor; and Jose Guadalupe Lopez Rodriguez, also identified as Mexican, who was convicted of attempted first-degree sexual offense with a child.
Additional arrests during the operation included Ruben Barra-Martinez, characterized in the ICE press release as a Mexican national with convictions for burglary, vehicle theft, robbery, and multiple felony counts related to illegal reentry into the United States following deportation. Kadlis Sivananthan, identified in the announcement as a former member of the 18th Street gang from Sri Lanka, was arrested on multiple felony larceny charges and narcotics possession.