How much of a threat are criminal illegal aliens to the nation and to New Mexico?
On February 22, 2024, Laken Riley, a 22- year- old nursing student went for a jog in a wooded area near the University of Georgia campus. She never returned. She was murdered by Jose Ibarra, 26, an illegal alien and member of the Venezuelan gang, tren de Aragua. Ibarra was convicted of the murder on November 20, 2024 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Ibarra had entered the United States illegally near El Paso, Texas on September 8, 2022. After several days in detention, he was released and given a bus ticket to New York City, that was paid for by the government. In September 2023, Ibarra was arrested in New York for child endangerment. He was not placed in custody and ICE was not notified. Instead, New York City gave him a plane ticket to Atlanta, Georgia. He flew to Atlanta on September 28, 2003. He began to live and work in Athens, Georgia.
Using a report prepared by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the World Population Review estimated that as of 2023, there were approximately 15,438,000 illegal aliens in the country. When children of the illegals were included, the figure rose to 20,783,000. For New Mexico, the 2023 numbers were 119,000 and 160,000.
In September, 2024, ICE responded to a query from Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales. ICE acknowledged that 425,000 aliens released into the U.S. have criminal convictions and another 222,000 aliens have criminal charges pending. The number of aliens on ICE’s non-detained docket has tripled since Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, growing from 2.6 million to 7.4 million in FY 2024. In the letter sent to Rep. Gonzales, ICE made several shocking admissions about aliens released into the U.S. as part of the non-detained docket. Over 13,000 aliens have convictions for murder. Another 15,000 have convictions for sexual assault. If that weren’t bad enough, ICE’s letter contained even more detail: 56,000 aliens on the non-detained docket have convictions related to dangerous drugs, 62,000 have convictions for assault; 18,000 have convictions for larceny (theft); 14,000 have convictions for burglary; 13,000 have convictions for weapons offenses, and 2,500 have convictions for kidnapping.
Having lived in New Mexico for over 40 years, I can state with confidence that the political party that has run the state for most of the last 90 years and its allies in the media have attempted to hide or downplay the impact of crimes committed by illegals. Twenty-three of New Mexico’s thirty- three counties are officially sanctuary counties including the five with the five largest cities in the state (Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Chaves and Doña Ana). The cities of Santa Fe, Las Cruces and Farmington are sanctuary cities. Governor Grisham has also vowed not to cooperate with ICE regarding immigration enforcement.
There was a terrible crime committed by illegals in New Mexico 15 years ago that the politicians and the media could not cover up.
June 20, 2009 was a busy Saturday morning at the Denny’s restaurant on Coors Blvd in Albuquerque. At about 9:40 a.m., three men entered the restaurant and staged an armed robbery. During the robbery, a firearm was discharged by one of the robbers and a kitchen worker, Stephanie Anderson, was killed. Two of the assailants were captured on June 9 but the third would not be brought to justice for five years.
In the days and weeks following the robbery and murder, the following information was revealed:
- The names of the three assailants were Marvin Antonio Aguilar-Lopez, Pablo de Leon-Ortiz and Francisco Melgar-Cabrera.
- All three were illegal aliens from El Salvador
- Each had resided in Albuquerque for over a year.
- The group specialized in restaurant robberies
- Two of the three had full, unrestricted N.M drivers’ licenses.
- The two with N.M licenses had each been arrested at least once by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) for driving while intoxicated (DWI), and on neither occasion had APD notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the arrests.
- Had ICE been notified, the two would likely have been deported and Stephanie Anderson would likely still be alive today.
Pablo de Leon-Ortiz, was also indicted in federal court. To take the death penalty off the table, he also agreed to a plea deal. His deal was for 35 years in federal prison. His federal prisoner number is 48789-051, and he is currently jailed at the Oxford, Wisconsin Federal Correctional Institute. His scheduled release date is December 7, 2033.
Francisco Melgar-Cabrera escaped from Albuquerque on June 9 and made it back to El Salvador. The United States knew almost immediately that Melgar-Cabrera was in El Salvador. However, the El Salvador Supreme Court refused a first extradition request. After a second attempt, the El Salvador Supreme Court finally relented and agreed to extradite Melgar-Cabrera to the United States on the condition that the death penalty be taken off the table. Five long years after Stephanie Anderson’s murder, Melgar-Cabrera was returned to the United States.
Instead of accepting a plea deal, Melgar-Cabrera decided to go to trial. One year after his return to the United States, he was convicted by an Albuquerque federal court jury. He was sentenced to life plus twenty.
Francisco Melgar-Cabrera is currently housed at the United States Prison at Victorville, California. His federal prisoner number is 77664-051. His scheduled release date is upon his death.
Charles Sullivan is a retired attorney who has lived in NM since 1978.
