U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported Oscar Lopez Delira, a 47-year-old convicted child predator, to Mexico on May 27. Lopez, who had been removed from the United States three times, was transported by ICE officers from the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe to the Laredo Port of Entry before being released into Mexico.
Lopez's criminal history in the U.S. includes convictions for two counts of sexually exploiting a minor on March 20, 2017, and illegal reentry on July 1, 2024. His first illegal entry into the U.S. occurred at an unknown date and location. He was arrested by ICE in Dallas on January 2, 2001, and returned to Mexico that same day.
After illegally reentering the U.S., Lopez was not encountered by ICE again until August 25, 2015, when he was arrested for sexually exploiting a minor in Carrollton. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice transferred him into ICE custody on August 23, 2019. An immigration judge ordered his removal to Mexico on September 10, 2019, which ICE officers executed two days later through the Laredo Port of Entry.
Lopez entered the U.S. illegally for a third time on February 11, 2024, near Hidalgo and was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol. He faced charges for illegal reentry and was convicted on July 1, 2024; he received an eighteen-month prison sentence. On May 23, he was transferred from Beaumont Federal Correctional Institution into ICE custody before his removal four days later.
"“For far too long," said Bret Bradford, Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operation Houston Field Office "dangerous criminal aliens like this individual have been able to easily circumvent our nation’s laws to illegally enter the country only to go on and victimize innocent and law-abiding residents.” Bradford emphasized that "ICE is working daily with our federal state and local law enforcement partners to restore integrity to our nation’s laws and public safety to our communities."
Further updates regarding ICE's immigration enforcement efforts in Texas can be found via their social media presence at @EROHouston.
