NEW YORK CITY (TND) — New York City Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on Tuesday announced the arrest of a migrant squatter with ties to transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua.

The individual, Johan Jose Cardenas Silva, is wanted in Peru on conspiracy, assault and aggravated theft charges, according to ICE. ICE officials arrested Cardenas after his release from Nassau County Correctional Center. He is currently detained and awaiting deportation from the U.S.

Border patrol officers in 2022 encountered Cardenas and determined he entered the U.S. illegally. Officers then issued him an expedited removal order. An immigration judge in 2023 later ordered Cardenas be removed from the country, but he has avoided these orders, according to ICE.

Cardenas and seven other migrants were arrested by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in March on a slew of charges including possessing a loaded firearm on school grounds and possession of controlled substances. The migrants had allegedly been squatting in a basement apartment in the Bronx where they kept a child near loaded weapons and drugs.

READ MORE | NYC mayor proposes immigrants to serve as lifeguards, calls them 'excellent swimmers'

Incoming migrants with connections to Tren de Aragua have earned a reputation for causing trouble in New York City. Mark Morgan, the former acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and a visiting fellow for the Heritage Foundation, told The National Desk these individuals are creating a dangerous situation in the city.

“A lot of these individuals, they don't speak the language. They have no job skills or they have no familiar connection here and no way to make a living, and so they make just prime targets for gang recruitment," Morgan said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams in February suggested migrants should face harsher penalties for committing crimes.

“We need to make changes to the sanctuary city law that if you commit a felony, a violent act, we should be able to turn you over to ICE and have you deported," Adams said.

Follow Jackson Walker on X at @_jlwalker_ for the latest trending national news. Have a news tip? Send it to jacwalker@sbgtv.com.

ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7zZqroqeeYsSwvsudZpqqnZqxbrnIoKmapqRiwLLBwK2rnqpdrLWwecGeo6iml6h6tbuMr5ynnaqqsq2tzWaemqaXYrCivNOuqZ6cXZfGbrLEnapmppWserq70aRknKGkrnqqucyinquZpJ68r3nAp5tmm6WowbC50macp56fp7CmucSnq2ahk5p6pr7OZqGooJGjequ70p5knJmimbKvrdJmqqKkppZ6qrnMop6rmaSevK950qisraCVp7turs6rm56qXZq%2Fqq%2BMmpuapaM%3D