New Mexico Judge Resigns After Harboring Illegal Immigrant Linked to Tren de Aragua
A New Mexico judge has resigned after harboring a suspected member of the violent Tren de Aragua gang in his home.
Magistrate Judge Joel Cano submitted his resignation on March 3, the same day suspected gang member Cristhian Ortega-Lopez appeared in court on charges of being an illegal immigrant in possession of a firearm. According to a report by Breitbart, Ortega-Lopez illegally entered the US near Eagle Pass, Texas, in December 2023 during the Biden administration and was released from Border Patrol custody after three days due to overcrowding.
Ortega-Lopez later met Cano’s wife, Nancy, in El Paso, where he was working as a construction worker and handyman. She reportedly allowed him to stay in a house behind their residence. Ortega-Lopez also used the Cano residence as his address when filing a request for immigration relief.
Prosecutors say the couple’s daughter, April Cano, who owned a home nearby, “possessed a large number of firearms” and “allowed him to hold and sometimes shoot various firearms.” Ortega-Lopez was later found in possession of several of these weapons.
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico obtained social media posts showing Ortega-Lopez at a shooting range with multiple firearms and ammunition. Other images reportedly revealed tattoos associated with the Tren de Aragua gang. The Trump administration recently designated the gang as a Transnational Criminal Organization.
Breitbart also reported that images found on Ortega-Lopez’s phone depicted graphic scenes involving decapitated and mutilated bodies.
Ortega-Lopez is currently being held at the Dona Ana County Detention Center on a charge of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms. It remains unclear whether Judge Cano or his wife will face charges related to harboring an illegal immigrant or providing support to a foreign terrorist organization.
