Who is Jose Melchor Martinez? Convicted Child Sex Offender and ICE's Most Wanted Captured in Louisiana

Arrested
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations deportation officers arrested Jose Melchor Martinez, one of ICE's Most Wanted fugitives, on Wednesday during a targeted operation in central Louisiana. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) said it has arrested one of its "Most Wanted" fugitives, a convicted child sex offender, on Wednesday during a targeted operation in central Louisiana.

An Enforcement and Removal Operations New Orleans Special Response Team arrested Mexican national Jose Melchor Martinez, who also goes by the name Jose Luis Martinez-Sanchez, on Wednesday morning, after executing a federal arrest warrant at a residence in Church Point, Louisiana, according to a statement from ICE.

The convicted child sex offender, who ICE said was in the U.S. unlawfully, was convicted on a felony charge of taking indecent liberties with a child in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in November 2002.

After his release from criminal custody, ICE deported Martinez from the U.S. to Mexico in September 2003.

The immigration law enforcement agency said the sex offender had re-entered the U.S. illegally after his deportation, which is a felony act under federal law.

He fell under ICE's radar after a run-in with local law enforcement in Acadia Parish, in which he was convicted for driving under the influence on April 30 and sentenced to probation.

Since his arrest, Martinez has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, where he remains pending federal felony prosecution in the Western District of Louisiana, ICE said.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New Orleans Acting Field Office Director Trey Lund touted the arrest as "an excellent example of ICE's ongoing focus to prioritize its enforcement efforts toward unlawfully present foreign nationals who pose the greatest threat to public safety.

"Despite attempts by some to confuse the public, ICE does not conduct random or indiscriminate enforcement, and the agency's targeted enforcement efforts make communities safer for all persons, whatever their immigration status may be, by removing dangerous criminals from the streets," Lund said.

Read more: U.S. Prisons Reaching Capacity Due to Growing Number of Immigrants Jailed, Prison Bureau Warns

Despite Lund's assertions, ICE has faced widespread condemnation over its enforcement of the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants, including its "zero tolerance" child separation policy, which saw more than 2,600 children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The agency also faced backlash over its large-scale raids on immigrant communities across the country, and for arresting immigrants outside courthouses or at their homes and places of work as part of its "targeted enforcement" efforts.

In its press release on Martinez's arrest, the agency asserted that approximately 90 percent of all persons arrested by ICE during the first three quarters of fiscal year 2018 either had a criminal conviction, a pending criminal charge or were already subject to a removal order issued by a federal immigration judge.

While it is true that the majority of undocumented immigrants arrested by ICE have had criminal convictions, in fiscal year 2017 traffic violations made up a significant portion of those offenses.

Broken down by offense, around 80,000 of 523,315 charges or convictions were for driving while impaired, while another 68,000 were for other unspecified traffic offenses, meaning traffic violations represented 28 percent of all offenses.

Around 76,500, or 14.5 percent, of the charges or convictions were for dangerous drugs while around 62,500, or nearly 12 percent, were for immigration-related offenses.

Assault charges or convictions accounted for about 48,450, or just over 9 percent, while sex offenses made up more than 6,660, or just over 1 percent, of the charges or convictions.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Chantal Da Silva is Chief Correspondent at Newsweek, with a focus on immigration and human rights. She is a Canadian-British journalist whose work ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go