Twice-deported illegal immigrant charged with rape, kidnapping
Former Acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey weighed in on the case of Juan Arevalo Mendez, a twice-deported illegal immigrant now facing rape and kidnapping charges in Fairfax County, Virginia. Fahey pointed to Mendez’s lengthy criminal record, which includes assault and drug possession, and argued that the alleged crimes could have been prevented if Fairfax County authorities had worked with ICE to place him in federal custody. Mendez has been deported twice.
A Mexican national who had been deported from the United States several times before unlawfully returning has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of two minors, federal officials said.
Erik Santana-Garcia, 34, of Salt Lake City, Utah, received the sentence on July 30. He will serve 20 years in federal prison without parole, followed by lifetime supervised release, after being convicted of interstate transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, possession of child pornography and illegal reentry into the U.S. after a prior deportation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
Court records show Santana-Garcia pleaded guilty on March 3.
Erik Santana-Garcia, 34, of Mexico, was sentenced last month to 20 years in federal prison without parole, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. (ICE)
Prosecutors said Santana-Garcia took a minor across state lines with the intent of engaging in illegal sexual activity with the child.
According to prosecutors, Santana-Garcia left Utah with the victim on Nov. 10, 2024, intending to travel to New York. Two days later, police in Oak Grove, Missouri, located the pair. Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations later found child pornography involving a second minor on a phone seized from Santana-Garcia when he was arrested.
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.
