ICE lodges detainer on criminal illegal alien accused of brutally murdering co-worker with sledgehammer in Texas

HOUSTON - ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the Harris County Jail April 13 on Josue Abraham Chirino-Leonice, a 19-year-old criminal illegal alien from Venezuela who was recklessly released into the country by the Biden administration, following his arrest for allegedly beating a co-worker to death with a sledgehammer.

Local law enforcement arrested Chirino-Leonice on April 12 in Pasadena, after he was reportedly found driving around in the victim's vehicle.

"This criminal illegal alien - who never should have been allowed into the country in the first place - is accused of savagely beating a co-worker to death with a sledgehammer and leaving him to die in a house they were renovating together," said ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez. "Our officers are working tirelessly to restore integrity to our nation's immigration system to bring an end to the carnage and unnecessary suffering in this country that's caused by criminal illegal aliens, and we won't rest until we've accomplished that mission."

The U.S. Border Patrol first arrested Chirino-Leonice in November 2023. The Biden administration subsequently released him into the interior of the country.

The Trump administration is committed to restoring common sense and sanity to our nation's immigration system. Under President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security will not gamble with the safety of Americans and our national security - as previous administrations have done - by allowing murderers, child rapists, gang members and other dangerous criminal illegal aliens to remain in our communities unvetted and unchecked.

Immediately upon reassuming office, President Trump issued two executive orders entitled Protecting the American People from Invasion and Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats that together empowered ICE officers to once again enforce our nation's immigration laws without political interference and aggressively target criminal illegal aliens like Chirinio-Leonice.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

ICE's Houston field office is responsible for conducting immigration enforcement in 58 counties in Southeast Texas, stretching down the Texas Gulf Coast from Beaumont to Corpus Christi and from Houston/Galveston out to Waco, Texas. To learn more about ICE's immigration enforcement mission in Southeast Texas, follow us on X at @EROHouston.