Danelo Cavalcante

WHY WASN’T DANELO CAVALCANTE DEPORTED?

arguments, Brandão would cave to Cavalcante’s demands when he threatened her with a knife, which is what he had been planning to do the day he murdered her. They claimed that Cavalcante had committed the murder in the heat of the moment after the pair had had an intense argument on Brandão’s front lawn. The defense would also discuss the toxicity of Cavalcante and Brandão’s relationship, claiming that it had been volatile, and that the stabbing was just the result of the couple reaching their breaking point. Specifically, Barkawi pointed out that Cavalcante later called his mother and when an illegal immigrant is arrested and charged, ICE lodges an immigration detainer, which is a request that ICE be notified when the criminal has served their sentence so they can begin the deportation process. In Cavalcante’s case, ICE issued an immigration detainer against him once he was arrested. So, only once Cavalcante had served his full sentence would he be deported back to Brazil. Many have wondered why Cavalcante, an undocumented immigrant, was not deported back to Brazil. For starters, authorities with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were not aware of Cavalcante’s presence in the country or his prior charges from Brazil until Brandão’s homicide case. Therefore, the agency had no reason to deport him back to Brazil before the murder had occurred. Furthermore, undocumented immigrants charged with more serious offenses (like Cavalcante) are often required to serve their sentences in the United States. Since foreign countries have no obligation to imprison people based on convictions in the United States, keeping these criminals in the United States ensures that they will serve their full sentences. Typically,

42

Danelo Cavalcante