Federal immigration officers apprehended two illegal immigrants convicted of crimes against children in back-to-back operations in New Jersey and Texas—in a move authorities say reflects a renewed drive to push violent offenders out of the U.S.
In a news release, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended Gladys Leticia Bustamente-Rios of Honduras and Maria Alejandra Gamarro-Quinonez of Guatemala, and that both women are still in detention.
Bustamente-Rios had previously been expelled from the country and forbidden from returning, while Gamarro-Quinonez received a final removal order.
“These criminal illegal aliens victimized innocent children, the most vulnerable members of our society,” ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said. “ICE is ensuring that these criminals will never do this again. Our mission is about public safety and removing dangerous threats from this country, and we will not rest until our communities are safe from these vicious criminals.”
Bustamente-Rios entered the United States illegally in 1997, according to the DHS. She was sentenced to five years in jail after being charged with assault and a family violation that year.
On August 17, 1998, an immigration judge ordered her removal, barring her from returning to the United States. On July 30, 1999, she was deported.
She later committed a felony violation by unlawfully reentering the country.
Bustamente-Rios was identified and arrested at her home last month, and she is still in ICE detention pending her removal.
Federal officials described a separate case involving Gamarro-Quinonez, who entered the United States in a different manner.
Gamarro-Quinonez entered the United States legitimately on a visitor visa, but she failed to leave by April 27, 2007, as required by her visa.
On August 14, 2023, ICE detained Gamarro-Quinonez and lodged her in the New Jersey Sussex County Jail for theft.
She was released after posting a $2,000 bond and was given a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration court.
On April 1, 2025, an immigration judge in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, ordered her to be removed. According to the DHS, ICE apprehended her on November 10 in Graham, Texas, where she had reported for probation after a judge deferred sentencing in her child endangerment and abandonment case.
Gamarro-Quinonez, like Bustamente-Rios, will stay in ICE detention until her removal, according to the DHS.