Pedro Ornelas/Mexico/Sex Assault, Rape

Mexican national Pedro Ornelas was arrested by federal immigration authorities in Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge. Ornelas was previously convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, with specific convictions for sexual assault and rape. He had been living in Woodbury, Minnesota, for approximately twenty years before his arrest in May 2017 by Woodbury police.

The state court sentenced Ornelas to 172 months in prison with a stayed execution of sentence and ordered 25 years of supervised probation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took Ornelas into custody on May 4, 2020, the same day he was sentenced. Federal immigration officials identified Ornelas as removable for his aggravated felony convictions. The Department of Homeland Security included Ornelas on its “Worst of the Worst” public database as part of Operation Metro Surge enforcement efforts.