Immigration authorities announced Thursday the arrest of Ezequiel Cruz-Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico with a lengthy criminal record, who had been residing in a home operating a daycare.
Cruz-Rodriguez’s criminal history includes child sex offenses involving a child under 14, sexual battery, illegal possession of a firearm, driving under the influence, and robbery. He was also identified as a member of the Logan Heights gang, a primarily Mexican gang based in San Diego, where he was living at the time of his arrest.
He was residing with his wife, who operates a home daycare and is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
A senior Department of Homeland Security official said, “It is sickening to think this convicted pedophile was residing in a home where a daycare operates.”
ICE highlighted the efforts of its officers in removing Cruz-Rodriguez from the U.S., saying, “Thanks to the work of our ICE law enforcement officers, this convicted pedophile and gang member will no longer be able to prey on children inside a daycare. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, dangerous individuals like this will not walk free in the U.S.”
Authorities noted that Cruz-Rodriguez had previously been removed from the U.S. three times—in 1996, 2002, and 2012—but returned illegally before this most recent arrest.
Patrick Divver, director of ICE’s San Diego field office, described Cruz-Rodriguez as “an unregistered convicted child sex offender with prior convictions for possession of a firearm, DUI, domestic violence, battery, assault, brandishing a firearm, robbery, and illegal reentry.”
Although San Diego does not have a formal sanctuary city policy, the Trump administration lists it as a sanctuary jurisdiction under a federal initiative targeting areas that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. California, as a state, also restricts local law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities.
The Trump administration has made locating and deporting illegal immigrants with gang affiliations and criminal records a priority. Since President Trump’s term began, ICE has deported nearly 200,000 people, the highest level in a decade, while pursuing an ambitious deportation agenda.
The GOP’s domestic policy package, the One Big Beautiful Bill, includes increased funding for ICE to strengthen deportation operations and bolster border security.