Federal immigration authorities have apprehended two undocumented immigrants with prior convictions for crimes against children during separate operations in New Jersey and Texas. This move is part of a broader initiative aimed at removing violent offenders from the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Gladys Leticia Bustamente-Rios from Honduras and Maria Alejandra Gamaro-Quinones from Guatemala, both of whom are currently in custody.
Bustamente-Rios had been previously deported and prohibited from returning, while Gamaro-Quinones had a final order of deportation against her.
ICE Director Todd M. Lyons commented on the arrests, saying, “These criminal illegal aliens have victimized the most vulnerable and innocent children in our society. ICE is ensuring these criminals will never do something like this again. Our mission is public safety, and we will not rest until our communities are safe from these heinous criminals.”
Bustamente-Rios originally entered the United States illegally in 1997 and was sentenced to five years in prison for assault and family-related crimes the same year. An immigration judge ordered her deportation on August 17, 1998, barring her from returning. She was deported on July 30, 1999, but later re-entered the country unlawfully, which led to her current situation.
Last month, agents found Bustamente-Rios at her residence and arrested her; she remains in ICE custody pending further proceedings.
In contrast, Gamaro-Quinones entered the U.S. legally under a tourist visa but overstayed that visa, failing to leave by the required date in April 2007. She was arrested on August 14, 2023, for theft and booked into a New Jersey jail. After posting bail, she received a notice to appear before an immigration judge.
On April 1, 2025, an immigration judge in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, ordered her removal. ICE apprehended her in Graham, Texas, on November 10, after she had been cited for probation related to a child endangerment case. Like Bustamente-Rios, Gamaro-Quinones will also remain in custody as the legal process continues.
