The New Mexico Supreme Court banned a state judge from holding or seeking office after an alleged Tren de Aragua member was arrested in his home.

The judge, Joel Cano, resigned in March after serving in the Dona Ana County Magistrate Court in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The court said Cano “can never hold a judicial office again, be a candidate for a judicial office, and cannot exercise any judicial authority in the state, including officiating at weddings.”

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An oral argument scheduled on disciplinary cases related to Cano was vacated following the ruling.

A Homeland Security investigation of Venezuelan illegal immigrant Cristhian Ortega-Lopez revealed he was “residing with other illegal aliens” and “in possession of firearms.” Pictures from his court case show him dining with the Cano family and posing with them in a Christmas photo.

Ortega-Lopez said he entered the United States illegally from Mexico in December 2023. He said he met Cano’s wife, Nancy Cano, when he installed “a glass door for her” while he was living in El Paso.

“He continued to do a few jobs for Nancy Cano, and after being evicted from the apartment in April 2024, Nancy Cano offered her ‘casita’ in the back of the residence she shared with her husband, Joel Cano,” court documents said.

Two search warrants were executed at the Canos’ home in February, resulting in Ortega-Lopez and his roommates being taken into custody.

Investigators saw Ortega-Lopez in social media posts with weapons. Ortego-Lopez said some of them belonged to April Cano, Nancy and Joel’s daughter, who “allowed him to hold and sometimes shoot various firearms.” The four firearms were seized.

In his resignation letter, Joel Cano said his final day was March 21.

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“All the best to every one of you,” he said in the letter. “I wish all of you a happy retirement once you are ready yourself,” he said.

The Democratic judge had served in Dona Ana County since 2011.