A previously deported illegal immigrant from Mexico faces felony sex assault charges after police allege he raped a Roscommon County teen.
Roscommon County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Leocado Hernandez-Garcia, 33, on five felony counts of criminal sexual conduct on Friday following a raid on several homes in Roscommon Township and Houghton Lake that also uncovered two others in the country illegally.
Garcia, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was deported from the United States in 2014, and again in 2023, but “reentered the United States a third time at unknown date and location without inspection by an immigration official,” according to a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“This is another example of the results we achieve through strong partnerships with our local and federal law enforcement agencies,” said Javier Geronimo, Jr., Detroit Sector acting chief patrol agent. “Thanks to this collaboration, a repeat immigration offender accused of raping a teenager is now under arrest, along with two other illegal aliens. We remain committed to protecting our community through teamwork and vigilance.”
The arrest stemmed from police reports of adult men communicating with multiple teenage girls from the Houghton Lake area, which sparked an investigation that remains ongoing.
Garcia was arraigned in 82nd District Court in Roscommon on Monday and remains in Roscommon County Jail, while the other illegal immigrants were taken into ICE custody last week, WWTV reports.
Agents with both ICE Homeland Security Investigations Traverse City and U.S. Border Patrol in Sault Ste Marie assisted in the case, as did the Gerrish Township Police Department, Richfield Township Department of Public Safety, and the Roscommon Township Fire Department.
“ICE HSI Detroit is committed to assisting our local partners like the Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office on crimes involving illegal aliens in their jurisdiction,” said ICE HSI Detroit Acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey. “Our thoughts are with the victim at this time, and we hope that these recent steps toward justice and accountability can help her on the road to recovery and healing.”
The arrests come as sheriff’s departments across mid-Michigan are mulling a request from ICE to bolster collaboration with federal immigration officials, WSGW reports.
“In Michigan, only Jackson County has agreed to the partnership program, though reports say Roscommon County has a pending agreement as well,” according to the news site.
ICE documents posted online two days ago lists Roscommon County as one of 56 in the U.S. partnering with the agency through a Task Force agreement that allows deputies to be trained, authorized, and certified by ICE to enforce limited immigration laws with an ICE-led task force.
Sheriffs in Bay, Saginaw, and other counties that received the request have rejected an opportunity to participate, MLive reports.
The Roscommon arrests are the latest in Michigan amid the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, initiated as promised by President Donald Trump on the first day of his second term.
A Boarder Brief factsheet released by the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security on Tuesday highlights U.S. Customs and Border Protection data for March that illustrates the drastic turnaround in the months since.
The data shows apprehensions along the southern border have declined by 95%, from 137,473 in March 2024 to 7,181 last month, while border encounters nationwide are down 88%, from 189,359 to 11,017 over the same time frame.
“It sure is a breath of fresh air to have a president do what he said he would do,” committee chair Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., said in a statement. “With Southwest border apprehensions hitting yet another record-low, law and order is at an all-time high.
“Our borders are secure because the Trump administration has ended catch and release and rescinded the unlawful mass-parole programs implemented by the Biden-Harris administration,” he said. “Our communities are safer because the Trump administration is removing violent criminals and dismantling the cartels’ business model. Our federal law enforcement officers are empowered because this president has untied their hands and allowed them to do the jobs they signed up for.”
In the first 50 days of the second Trump administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement made 32,809 arrests, which included 1,155 criminal gang members and 39 known or suspected terrorists.
“This is roughly equal to all of Fiscal Year 2024 under President Biden,” according to the Committee on Homeland Security.
