An illegal immigrant from Venezuela wanted in connection with a homicide investigation in his home country is on his way back home after he was busted driving without a license in Lincoln Park, Michigan, last week.
Lincoln Park police contacted agents with the U.S. Border Patrol’s Gibraltar Station, who identified the individual as Franh Enrique Yonkaiker Machado-Rivas, 27.
Machado-Rivas admitted to agents he was in the country illegally, and “record checks revealed the individual … is wanted by the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, in connection with a homicide investigation in Venezuela,” according to a release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Interpol connects police forces from its 196 member countries to share information and coordinate investigations related to various crimes, but is not a law enforcement agency.
“This arrest highlights the Border Patrol’s unwavering commitment to protecting our communities and upholding the rule of law,” Detroit Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Morris said in a statement. “Through strong partnerships with local and federal law enforcement, we are able to identify and remove dangerous individuals—like this homicide suspect—before they can pose a threat to public safety.”
Machado-Rivas is being processed for removal from the United States, but he’s only one of several illegal immigrants arrested in Michigan amid the largest deportation effort in U.S. history who are wanted in connection with homicides elsewhere.
In late March, ICE Detroit highlighted on X the arrest of another “illegal alien from Venezuela who is wanted for murder in his home country.”
That was around the same time another illegal immigrant, a 43-year-old from Honduras, was arrested in Monroe County after a criminal record check revealed he was wanted in connection with a 2020 murder in Marion County, Indiana, according to The Detroit News.
“This kind of cooperation between U.S. Border Patrol and local law enforcement agencies epitomizes the real results being achieved through our collaboration,” CBP officials said following the March arrest. “A homicide suspect no longer threatens our communities because of our teamwork. We are proud of all our local, state, and federal partnerships.”
In Michigan, sheriff’s offices in Berrien, Calhoun, Jackson and Roscommon counties, along with the Taylor Police Department, have signed agreements to help ICE enforce federal immigration policy, according to a list of 287(g) participating agencies.
Those partnerships will play a critical role in removing criminal illegal immigrants as the One Big Beautiful Bill approved by Congress and signed into law by Trump last week increases funding to ramp up immigration enforcement.
The legislation includes about $165 billion in added funding for the Department of Homeland Security over the next decade, including $4.1 billion for CBP to hire 5,000 officers and 3,000 border patrol agents, as well as $2 billion for annual bonuses, and $600 million for recruiting, hiring and retention initiatives, according to the Federal News Network.
There’s also $8 billion for ICE to hire 10,000 new officers, $858 for ICE retention and signing bonuses, and $600 million for marketing, recruiting and onboarding programs.
Another $45 billion will go to new detention centers, $50 billion to finish the border wall, $813 million for CBP vehicles, $700 million for ICE IT improvements, and $25 billion for the Coast Guard to invest in shipbuilding, aircraft and facilities.
Since Trump took office on Jan. 20, ICE arrests have increased 154%, with 940 arrested in Michigan through June 10, according to MLive.
The total nearly matches the 951 detained by ICE in Michigan in all of 2024.
The jump in arrests follows a directive from White House advisor Stephen Miller to hit a 3,000-a-day-arrest quota, though Border Czar Tom Homan said Monday he’s pushing to more than double that number.
“And for those that say 3,000 a day is too much, I want to remind them, do the math, we have to arrest 7,000 every single day for the remainder of this administration just to catch the ones Biden released into the nation,” Homan told reporters outside the White House.
Under the Joe Biden administration, ICE averaged two to three arrests a day in Michigan, less than a quarter of the 12 people a day average during the first two weeks of June.
The increased ICE arrests come as border crossings have plunged in recent months, with June marking the lowest number of nationwide encounters in CBP history at 25,243 – a figure that’s 89% lower than the monthly average between 2021 and 2024, according to DHS.
“The numbers don’t lie—under President Trump’s leadership, DHS and CBP have shattered records and delivered the most secure border in American history. The world is hearing our message: the border is closed to law breakers,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement last week. “Under President Trump, our Border Patrol agents are empowered to do their job once again, secure our border and protect the American people.”
