Immigration authorities announced Thursday the arrest of an illegal immigrant pedophile with a lengthy criminal record who was living in a residence that was operating an at-home daycare.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement nabbed Ezequiel Cruz-Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, on Thursday. His criminal history includes sex offenses involving a child under 14, sexual battery, illegal possession of a firearm, driving under the influence, and robbery.
Cruz-Rodriguez was a member of the Logan Heights gang, a primarily Mexican gang based in San Diego, where the illegal immigrant was residing. At the time of his arrest, he was living with his wife who operates a home daycare. His wife is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“It is SICKENING to think this pedophile criminal illegal alien was residing inside the home where a daycare operates and hiding out in a sanctuary city,” a senior Department of Homeland Security Official said.
“Thanks to the brave work of our ICE law enforcement officers, this criminal illegal alien, convicted pedophile, and known Logan Heights gang member—will no longer be able to prey on children inside a daycare. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, sickos like this will not walk free in the U.S.”
Cruz-Rodriguez was removed from the U.S. three times and returned at an unknown time before ICE arrested him. He was removed in 1996 only to come back and get removed again in 2002 and 2012, authorities said.
“This individual is an unregistered convicted child sex offender. With prior convictions of possession of a firearm, DUI, domestic violence, battery, assault, brandishing a firearm, illegal reentry, robbery and illegal reentry after removal,” ICE San Diego field office director Patrick Divver said in a video shared on X.
Although San Diego does not have a sanctuary city policy, the Trump administration considers it to be one and put the city on its public list of sanctuary jurisdictions. President Trump signed an executive order earlier this year directing the Justice Department to make a list of sanctuary jurisdictions as part of the federal government’s effort to combat them. California is one of the sanctuary states that restricts local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
The Trump administration has made it a priority to track down and deport illegal immigrants with gang affiliations and criminal records. Since Trump’s term began, ICE has deported almost 200,000 people, the highest level in a decade but short of the administration’s ambitious goals. The administration has stated its intention of pursuing the most ambitious deportation campaign in American history.
The GOP’s mammoth domestic policy package, the One Big Beautiful Bill, includes a significant increase in funding for ICE to bolster the administration’s deportation operation and enhance border security.