Twice-deported illegal immigrant charged with rape, kidnapping
Jonathan Fahey, once the Acting ICE Director, sheds light on the troubling case of Juan Arevalo Mendez, a noncitizen with a history of deportation, now facing grave charges of rape and kidnapping in Fairfax County, Virginia. Fahey criticizes the county’s decision not to work with ICE, arguing that Mendez’s criminal past was severe enough to have been addressed earlier, potentially averting these recent offenses. Mendez, it should be noted, has been deported twice before.
In another case highlighting immigration issues, Erik Santana-Garcia, a Mexican citizen who previously faced deportation but returned unlawfully to the United States, has been sentenced to two decades behind bars. The charges involve the sexual exploitation of minors and have drawn sharp attention from federal authorities.
At 34 years old, Santana-Garcia, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, received his sentence on July 30. His punishment includes 20 years in federal prison without the chance of parole, followed by a lifelong period of supervised release. This came after his conviction for transporting a minor across state lines for illegal sexual activities, possessing child pornography, and unlawfully reentering the U.S. subsequent to a deportation. These details were confirmed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
Court records reveal that Santana-Garcia admitted to his crimes, entering a guilty plea on March 3.
Last month, 34-year-old Erik Santana-Garcia, originating from Mexico, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole, with a lifetime of supervised release to follow. (ICE)
Santana-Garcia transported a minor across state lines intending to engage in illegal sexual activity with the child, prosecutors said.
He left Utah with the victim on Nov. 10, 2024, and intended to take the child to New York, but Oak Grove, Missouri, police located the pair two days later. Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations later discovered child pornography depicting a second minor on a phone seized from Santana-Garcia at the time of his arrest, prosecutors said.
Erik Santana-Garcia had previously been deported from the U.S. on multiple occasions. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Santana-Garcia had previously been deported and removed from the US multiple times, most recently on March 6, 2019, according to prosecutors.
“Now, Erik Santana-Garcia’s going to spend the next 20 years in a federal prison because ICE HSI Kansas City, ICE HSI Salt Lake City, ICE HSI Billings and local police from Oak Grove, Missouri, nabbed him,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement wrote on X.
ICE said it will deport Erik Santana-Garcia back to Mexico after he finishes his 20-year sentence. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
ICE said Santana-Garcia will be deported to Mexico after completing his prison sentence.
“This criminal illegal alien should have stayed in his own nation, because under @POTUS Trump, the United States has ZERO tolerance for child predators or illegal aliens who sneak across our borders,” the agency said.