Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials arrested a Venezuelan illegal immigrant influencer after he went viral for encouraging other migrants to take advantage of U.S. laws protecting squatters.
ICE’s Detroit field office arrested Leonel Moreno and he’s in federal custody.
Moreno reportedly also mocked Americans who ‘worked like slaves.’
BREAKING: The “migrant tiktok influencer” who mocked Americans who “work like slaves” and gave tips for squatters to take over Americans’ homes has reportedly just been arrested by ICE in Ohio according to Fox. pic.twitter.com/fudKgLL1CB
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 29, 2024
His account has been removed from TikTok, according to NewsNation.
“I learned that there is a law that says if a house is not inhabited, then we can take it,” Moreno said, the outlet reports.
“Here in the United States, terrain deformation also applies, and I think that will be my next business: invade abandoned houses,” he added.
Leonel Moreno, the ‘migrant influencer’ who mocked America, has been arrested by ICE: sources https://t.co/ir46Kf4Hd2 pic.twitter.com/Q0VO3vXStl
— New York Post (@nypost) March 29, 2024
“ICE tells FOX Moreno previously crossed illegally into the U.S. in April 2022, and was released on ATD (alternatives to detention) and was instructed to report to ICE within 60 days, but never did. Moreno has since been posting viral videos on TikTok, including urging other illegal aliens to squat in Americans’ homes. ICE tells me a statement on his arrest will be coming later today,” Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin wrote.
BREAKING: ICE official tells me Venezuelan illegal alien “TikTok influencer” Leonel Moreno was arrested by ICE’s Fugitive Ops team in Columbus, Ohio today, and he is now in federal custody. ICE tells FOX Moreno previously crossed illegally into the U.S. in April 2022, and was… pic.twitter.com/agwxvOIzto
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 29, 2024
NewsNation reports:
Moreno crossed into the country illegally in April of 2022 in Eagle Pass, Texas and was paroled, but authorities say he never showed up to his initial check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
When Moreno was initially processed, he was placed in the Alternatives to Detention program, where he was given a cell phone as a tracking device.
But because he didn’t follow the rules, Department of Homeland Security sources told NewsNation he was listed as a preorder absconder and was terminated from the program.
These sources later confirmed to NewsNation that Moreno was in custody.
Moreno has an order to appear in a Florida court in February of 2025, but authorities had trouble tracking him down. The address he initially provided was for Catholic Charities in Miami, but sources said he now has a possible address listed in Ohio.
Breaking: The Venezuelan TikTok star & illegal migrant who made videos telling others how to exploit America’s loopholes, squat in people’s homes & get “free” cash has been detained by ICE. Leonel Moreno entered the U.S. in 2022 & had an anchor baby. Read: https://t.co/fA9YLMVkSo
— Andy Ngô
(@MrAndyNgo) March 29, 2024
WATCH:
NEW: TikToker is going viral by telling illegal immigrants how to “invade” homes in America thanks to progressive squatting laws
Remarkable.
“We can invade a house in the USA, what do you think about this new law?” a video from one TikTok user read.
The man said he has African… pic.twitter.com/b92DT9fYq7
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 20, 2024
Per Fox News:
Moreno previously told his audience he planned to make a business out of “invading” abandoned houses and taking them over with squatters’ rights laws, then selling them for a profit. He claimed some of his African friends have told him they have already taken seven homes in the U.S.
“I have thought about invading a house in the United States,” he said in the TikTok video. “I found out that there is a law that says that if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it.”
He had also mocked people who work for a living.
“You’re hurt because I make more than you without much work while you work like slaves, understand?” he said. “That’s the difference between you and me. I’m always going to make lots of money without much work, and you’re always going to be exploited and miserable and insignificant.”
The U.S. is in the third year of a historic migrant crisis at the border, which has included a significant number of arrivals from Venezuala. Venezuelans are difficult to deport to their home country, however, since the socialist government is not taking them back after having started accepting deportation flights directly from the U.S. late last year.
Only 834 Venezuelans were deported in fiscal year 2023, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data, despite there being over 335,000 encounters at the border.
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