Final Detainee from New Jersey Immigration Facility Captured in California
The last of four individuals who escaped from an immigration detention center in New Jersey back in June has been apprehended in California, about 2,500 miles away.
Andres Felipe Pineda Mogoron, a Colombian national, fled from the Delaney Hall facility in Newark on June 12. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed his capture by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles. This information was shared in a recent announcement.
“We are incredibly thankful for our dedicated ICE agents and law enforcement partners who have captured Pineda Mogoron and the other three detainees who escaped Delaney Hall,” said Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a DHS statement. She emphasized that despite negative portrayals by politicians and activists, Delaney Hall had housed individuals with serious criminal records, including assault and robbery, and that these fugitives had even threatened law enforcement.
On July 17, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested the 25-year-old Pineda Mogoron on charges related to his escape. Previously, he had overstayed a tourist visa granted in 2023, putting him in the country illegally.
Three others—Franklin Norbert Bautista Reyes and Joel Enrique Sandoval Lopez from Honduras, along with Joan Sebastian Castaneda Rosada from Colombia—were captured in June.
“Now, these offenders are no longer a danger to the public,” McLaughlin stated.
Reports indicated that around 50 detainees at the facility had expressed dissatisfaction with their meals and living conditions, which purportedly led to the escape attempt. According to an immigration lawyer, the detainees broke down walls and used their mattresses to help make the two-story jump, even fashioning bed sheets to avoid barbed wire.
Pineda Mogoron had been arrested prior to the escape. He was first detained by the New York Police for theft on April 25, and then again on May 21 for home burglary, possession of burglary tools, and conspiracy.
While the other three detainees were recaptured by June 18, Pineda Mogoron eluded capture for over a month. The FBI has yet to disclose the details of his journey to California, where authorities had offered a $25,000 reward for information that could lead to finding any of the fugitives.
