ICE recaptures two illegal immigrants who escaped after allegedly choking Border Patrol agent
Two Mexican nationals were recaptured days after escaping custody during a transfer in Texas; ICE says they will face federal charges and credits law-enforcement partners for the arrest.
Two Mexican nationals were recaptured by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after escaping custody earlier this week when one of them allegedly choked a female Border Patrol agent during a transfer to the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas. ICE identified the suspects as Juan Carlos Padron Barron, 23, and Juan Carmen Pardon Mendez, 29. Both men were taken back into custody and will be criminally prosecuted to the fullest extent allowed by federal law, ICE said in a statement from its Houston office.
They were detained during an ICE-led multi-agency enforcement operation near Spring, Texas, targeting violent criminal aliens and egregious immigration offenders. On Sept. 22, one of the suspects escaped confinement and choked the Border Patrol agent during the transfer to the processing center, according to ICE. The two suspects were recaptured Tuesday with help from law enforcement partners, ICE said.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez denounced the incident, saying, "It is sickening that another law enforcement officer has been needlessly harmed as a direct result of the continued demonization of legitimate law enforcement activities by political leaders and certain members of the media." The agency added that the operation near Spring was part of a broader effort to remove dangerous offenders.
Padron Barron has illegally entered the United States at least three times and was previously expelled on Dec. 13, 2022, and Jan. 1, 2023, ICE said. This is the first time that U.S. immigration officials have encountered Padron Mendez.
ICE said the initial arrests of the two men were part of a broader push described by the agency as restoring public safety by targeting the “worst of the worst” illegal aliens, a program ICE says has yielded historic numbers of transnational gang members and dangerous child predators being removed from local communities throughout Southeast Texas. The agency also noted that ICE conducted a separate, Houston-area operation earlier this year that resulted in 422 arrests over the course of one week.
The two suspects are now back in ICE custody and face federal prosecution.