U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Ernesto Alejandro Perez-Garcia, a Mexican national, in Redondo Beach, California, on Thursday. Perez-Garcia admitted that his issues with alcohol led to his repeated illegal entries into the United States, stating it was his "mistake" that resulted in his apprehension.
Perez-Garcia has a criminal history dating back to 2003, with arrests for offenses including driving without a license, driving with a suspended license, possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, and making terroristic threats. ICE reported that he had illegally entered the U.S. five times and made four additional attempts to enter the country.
ICE agents encountered Perez-Garcia on the Redondo Beach esplanade. Initially, he denied his identity but acknowledged it upon being shown a previous mugshot. After his arrest and processing, Perez-Garcia told reporters that he had lied to agents in hopes of evading capture. He expressed a sense of inevitability regarding his arrest, stating, "I already knew it was going to catch up to me; I just didn't know when."
Perez-Garcia first entered the U.S. at an unspecified date and location. His first arrest by U.S. authorities was in April 2003 by the Torrance Police Department for driving without a license. He was convicted and served 30 days. Subsequent convictions included driving with a suspended license and possessing controlled substance paraphernalia.
In April 2006, Perez-Garcia was convicted of threatening a crime with intent to terrorize, for which he received a 60-day jail sentence and three years of probation. ICE removed him to Mexico the following month. However, he re-entered the U.S. undetected at a later date, leading to another arrest for threatening a crime with intent to terrorize in June 2006.
Over the subsequent two decades, Perez-Garcia faced numerous arrests, including repeated attempts to cross the southern border near Tecate, California. Since 2020, he has been arrested five times for disorderly conduct, with four of those arrests occurring in Redondo Beach. ICE noted that local authorities declined to honor ICE detainer requests on two occasions in 2020 and 2026.
Perez-Garcia claimed that the Redondo Beach Police Department had informed him a couple of years prior that ICE was seeking him. He stated that the department was "cool with it" and let him go, while also informing him of an outstanding warrant for his arrest. ICE Los Angeles Field Office Director Tom Giles stated that when detainers are not honored, it increases the risk to ICE officers and the public as they must actively seek out individuals.
Perez-Garcia stated he believes his arrest is "fair" and explained his desire to remain in the U.S. due to his children living there and his upbringing in the country. He acknowledged the difficulty of re-entering the U.S. after removal.