Earlier this year, migrant influencer Leonel Moreno tipped illegal immigrants on how to invoke squatter rights to their advantage and “invade” American houses without being a “public burden.” An Ohio-based immigration judge ordered the viral 27-year-old content creator to be deported from the US on September 9.
However, according to a report by the New York Post, it’s quite likely that the Venezuelan migrant would not be forced to leave the country. Moreno reportedly illegally crossed into Eagle Pass, Texas, on April 23, 2022. He was arrested in March 2024 after failing to attend mandatory check-in with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
What’s preventing ‘migrant influencer’ Leonel Moreno from being deported
A complication hindering the deportation process could prevent Moreno’s exit. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s administration recently stopped accepting flights of migrants deported from the US and Mexico. According to the Wall Street Journal, this defensive move seeks to oppose Washington’s reimposition of economic sanctions on the country. Subsequently, the almost weekly flights from the US to the South American country were curbed in late January.
Also read | Charges against Diddy revealed in unsealed federal indictment after Manhattan arrest
Per Homeland Security sources’ account, the Venezuelan migrant showed off cash on his social media while waving documents, which he claimed were US government handouts.
“I didn’t cross the Rio Grande to work like a slave,” Moreno said in an IG video. The infamous TikTok influencer became an unstoppable force after he shouted out in a video, “If a house is not inhabited, we can seize it.” He eventually became the subject of a child services probe when he admitted to his using his 1-year-old daughter, a US citizen, as a prop for one of his posts.
Where is the Venezuelan TikToker now?
Geauga CountySheriff Scott Hildenbrand previously told the NY Post that Moreno is currently being held at the Geauga County Jail in Ohio. In the absence of any direct commercial flight to Venezuela following their suspension in 2019 due to unrest and violence, Moreno’s deportation has been put on hold.
Sources said that Moreno acknowledged in court that he was a rank-and-file member of the Venezuelan Navy. He is reportedly not linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Also read | Can’t be anti-immigrant and pro US-India ties at same time: State Dept official
“I came here to the United States because of my persecution in my country… But they’re doing the same thing to me in the United States – persecuting me,” Moreno told the outlet in April from jail.
““It’s all misinformation in the media about me. They’re defaming me. They’re misrepresenting me in the news … I am a good father, a good husband, a good son, a good person, humble, respectful to people who respect me.”
