Elmer Rueda-Linares, an 18-year-old suspect in the vehicular death of an advisor to Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, entered the United States illegally, the Department of Homeland Security revealed.
Rueda-Linares was arrested after a horrific crash that killed the senator’s senior advisor, Kurt Englehart, 38, on April 6, before his immigration status came under scrutiny from officials.
Originally from Honduras, it was found that Rueda-Linares entered the US illegally in 2021 and has been placed on an ‘ICE hold’ in Washoe County Jail in Nevada, a statute that allows officials extra time to prepare for his deportation.
With Rueda-Linares in custody, the senator’s team paid tribute to Englehart as a ‘beloved figure across the state.’
The 18-year-old’s ICE hold, first reported by the Reno Gazette-Journal, was ordered two days after the crash.
The hold is an official request by immigration officials to hold a ‘removable citizen’ for up to 48 hours longer than they would have to be released, in order for preparations for their deportation to be made.
Rueda-Linares was charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident and is being held on a $100,000 bail.
The Department of Homeland Security told the New York Post that he first entered the country on March 12, 2021, near the port of entry at Rio Grande City, Texas ‘without inspection by an immigration official.’
‘United States Customs and Border Protection arrested him, and he was later released on his own recognizance June 22, 2021,’ the statement read.
Englehart had worked for Cortez Masto since 2017 and was named as a senior state advisor and rural outreach director last March.
The Democrat senator’s office described the 38-year-old as a ‘beloved’ employee, who ‘was always eager to help a constituent at a moment’s notice.’
‘For the past eight years, Kurt proudly served in both my campaign and official offices,’ Cortez Masto said after the news of Englehart’s death, saying her team were ‘heartbroken.’
‘He touched many lives and I know almost everyone in Northern Nevada has a great story about Kurt helping them or making them laugh.’
Englehart had previously worked for President Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Cortez Masto had often lobbied for immigration reform, previously introducing legislation in 2020 to fix the ‘broken immigration system.’
Rueda-Linares is next due in court on Thursday.
