ICE, law enforcement partners searching for 2 illegal aliens who escaped after choking Border Patrol agent

HOUSTON — Authorities are searching for Juan Carmen Pardon Mendez, 29, and Juan Carlos Padron Barron, 23, both illegal aliens from Mexico, who escaped from custody Sept. 22 in Conroe, Texas, after one of them was able to get out of their restraints and choked a female Border Patrol agent who was transferring them to the Montgomery Processing Center.

“It is sickening that another law enforcement officer has been needlessly harmed as a direct result of the continued demonization of legitimate law enforcement activities by political leaders and certain members of the media,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez. “Every time they label the brave men and women who work for ICE, CBP, or Border Patrol as Nazis or bounty hunters, they might as well paint a bright target on their backs because attacks like this are inevitable and will continue to occur.”

Both aliens were arrested during an ICE-led multi-agency enforcement operation targeting violent criminal aliens and egregious immigration offenders near Spring, Texas. The operations are part of the current administration’s focus on restoring public safety by targeting the “worst of the worst” illegal aliens and have resulted in historic numbers of transnational gang members and dangerous child predators being removed from local communities throughout Southeast Texas.

Padron Barron has illegally entered the U.S. at least three times and was previously expelled on Dec. 13, 2022, and Jan. 1, 2023. This is the first time that U.S. immigration officials have encountered Padron Mendez.

ICE is asking anyone with information on the potential whereabouts of either of these illegal aliens to call the ICE Tip Line at 866-347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form.

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