MURRIETA, CA – An immigration agent who has worked for ICE for 10 years was arrested this week, accused of helping a Mexican national enter the United States illegally.
Felix Cisneros, 42, of Murrieta is accused of “aiding and assisting an inadmissible alien to enter the United States,” the Department of Justice says.
According to the DOJ, Cisneros has worked with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in their Inland Empire office.
He was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court on Wednesday.
He appeared Thursday afternoon for an initial federal court appearance but was not asked to enter a plea.
A magistrate judge said Cisneros could soon be released from custody on a $300,000 bond. Cisneros waived a preliminary hearing, and his arraignment was set for April 27.
Cisneros is charged with aiding and assisting an inadmissible alien to enter the United States, a felony offense that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison.
According to a court affidavit, he acted at the behest of a local organized crime figure to allow an inadmissible Mexican national to enter the United States.
The Mexican national A legal permanent resident, who, as a result of felony convictions, was barred from re-entering the United States — was employed by the organized crime figure to negotiate with a Mexican company.
The complaint alleges that the organized crime figure asked Cisneros in 2013 to help the Mexican national return to the United States after a trip to Mexico.
Cisneros allegedly helped the foreign national regain a passport that had been seized several months earlier and helped facilitate his re-entry into the United States at Los Angeles International Airport.
Cisneros convinced officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to return the man’s passport and re-admit him to the United States “likely through deception,” according to the affidavit.
