‘Migrant Influencer’ Arrested

When we last checked in on illegal “migrant influencer” and scam artist Leonel Moreno, he was on the run from authorities after his despicable story went viral. Of course, we’re using the phrase “on the run” rather loosely because Moreno didn’t seem to making much of an effort to hide. He continued putting out “influencer” videos on Instagram after his TicToc account was suspended and he posted on other social media platforms. He posed for selfies in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, including one where he was standing in front of a police car. But if Moreno thought he was untouchable, his assumption turned out to be incorrect. ICE officers arrested him yesterday and took him into custody. He was still in Columbus and apparently had made no effort to flee. His immediate fate is unclear at this point. (NY Post)

illegal ‘migrant influencer’ Leonel Moreno, who mocked America on social media in several viral videos, has been nabbed by federal immigration authorities.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) fugitive operations officers arrested Moreno in Columbus, Ohio Friday, according to Fox News’ Bill Melugin.

The arrest comes after The Post exclusively reported how Moreno had skipped out on ICE soon after crossing the southern border into Texas illegally in 2022 and was now wanted by authorities.

ICE didn’t release much information regarding how they located Moreno or if he attempted to evade them or resist arrest. He would normally be eligible to be sent back to Venezuela, but our relations with that country are currently not the best (to say the least) so he may be spending some time in detention. 

In his most recent videos, Moreno didn’t appear to have a care in the world. He continued to brag about all the money he was bringing in without ever seeking a job. He also promised his followers that he was going to get his TicToc account restarted. As of this date, that doesn’t appear to have happened. It also doesn’t sound as if he’s amassed enough money for a serious legal defense fund.

While we can thank ICE for their efforts in this matter, the lion’s share of the credit should probably go to the New York Post. They’re the ones who brought Moreno’s story to the nation and made it go viral. People were justifiably outraged. Prior to the news hitting the headlines, Moreno was just another of Joe Biden’s millions of illegal aliens roaming the country and he hadn’t been convicted of anything (yet) that would have put him near the top of immigration enforcement’s priority list. But he was making ICE and the entire system look bad. It’s a safe bet that a number of agents were quickly dispatched to the Columbus area and told to be on the lookout for him. It certainly didn’t take long.

The problem is that we probably don’t have many good options when it comes to this guy. Detaining him indefinitely won’t be a viable option. There are probably already some leftist activists working to try to make Moreno into some sort of a folk hero and get him sprung from detention. If we ship him back to Venezuela, he’ll probably just leave again and start making his way back to America, assuming Joe Biden doesn’t send a plane to go pick him up. (Let’s not rule that out as a possibility.) He could easily get a fake ID with a new name on it and slip back into the country. Then we’ll be right back where we started, at least until he fires up his “influencer” channel again. Don’t think that he wouldn’t do that either. He really doesn’t strike me as being very bright.