WASHINGTON, D.C. – Federal immigration authorities have arrested Efren Cortez-Velez, a Mexican national living illegally in the United States who was convicted in New Jersey of child cruelty, criminal trespass, and resisting arrest. The arrest occurred Dec. 28 following a targeted enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers assigned to the Newark field office. Cortez-Velez is now in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
According to ICE records, Cortez-Velez’s criminal history dates back to 2007 when Passaic Police first arrested him on charges of criminal trespass and resisting arrest. He pleaded guilty that October and paid a $377 fine. Later that same year, on Dec. 25, he was arrested again for endangering a child. In April 2008, he pleaded guilty to abuse, abandonment, cruelty, and neglect and served six months in prison.
Despite multiple convictions, Cortez-Velez remained in the United States unlawfully for more than a decade before being located and arrested by ICE agents. “Despite the constant rhetoric from politicians, activists, and the media claiming that ICE is somehow wrong for doing its constitutionally mandated mission, the reality is that we’re out there arresting people like Efren Cortez-Velez — a criminal who entered this country illegally and was convicted of victimizing a vulnerable child,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons.
Lyons also noted a sharp increase in violence against immigration officers, citing a 1,347% rise in assaults and an 8,000% surge in death threats compared to the same period last year. “They’re still showing up every day to take the worst of the worst out of our communities and make America safe again,” he said.
ICE officials said the arrest underscores the agency’s continued efforts to identify, apprehend, and remove individuals who pose a danger to public safety. The agency emphasized that operations targeting convicted criminals and fugitives remain a top enforcement priority under federal law.