Juan Carrasco Cardenas/Mexico/Opium Possession

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Juan Carrasco Cardenas in Meriden, Connecticut. The Mexico national — here illegally — faces charges of opium possession.

Cardenas’s arrest triggers two separate legal processes that will move forward simultaneously. A state criminal case will be handled by local prosecutors, with the charges carrying penalties under state law. At the same time, a federal immigration court will evaluate Cardenas’s case independently and determine whether removal to Mexico should be ordered — a proceeding that continues regardless of the criminal outcome and is not dependent on a criminal conviction.

Federal authorities have placed Cardenas in immigration detention pending the outcome of removal proceedings. A Department of Justice immigration court will determine whether Cardenas is deported to Mexico.