Ernesto Alejandro Perez-Garcia, a Mexican national who had entered the United States without authorization on five separate occasions, stated that his struggle with alcohol was the critical misstep that ultimately led to his arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) early Thursday morning.
Perez-Garcia was taken into custody by ICE agents in Redondo Beach, a Los Angeles suburb. His record includes arrests dating back to 2003 for various offenses, such as those related to alcohol, controlled substances, and driving. He also faced charges for making terroristic threats and for unauthorized re-entry into the U.S. According to ICE, he had successfully entered the country without permission five times and attempted to do so an additional four times.
Despite widespread reports of ICE operations, Perez-Garcia indicated that he did not anticipate being arrested on Thursday. He recounted that federal agents approached him during his routine morning walk.
Once I saw the officer … with the picture of me, there was no way I was going to run,
he explained. Reflecting on his situation, he added,
At the end of the day, it’s the alcohol that got me back in this mess.
While he noted that a friend’s recent death had contributed to his alcoholism, he acknowledged, “It shouldn’t have, so it’s my mistake, and I’ve got to be responsible for that.”
Early Criminal Record and Deportation
Perez-Garcia’s initial entry into the U.S. occurred at an unspecified time and location. His first documented arrest by the Torrance Police Department in California was on April 3, 2003, for driving without a license, resulting in a conviction and a 30-day sentence. In subsequent years, he was also convicted for operating a vehicle with a suspended license and possessing controlled substance paraphernalia.
On April 10, 2006, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, found Perez-Garcia guilty of threatening a crime with intent to terrorize. He received a sentence of 60 days in jail and three years of probation. The following month, ICE deported him to Mexico for the first time.
However, Perez-Garcia re-entered the U.S. at an undisclosed date and location. By June 27, 2006, he was once again arrested for threatening a crime with intent to terrorize.
Over the next two decades, Perez-Garcia was arrested for a variety of offenses, including numerous attempts to cross the southern border near Tecate, California.
Continued Encounters and Local Policies
Since 2020, Perez-Garcia has been arrested five times for disorderly conduct, with four of those arrests made by the Redondo Beach Police Department. This year alone, he was arrested for disorderly conduct on April 17 and May 8. ICE reported that the Redondo Beach Police Department declined to honor its detainer requests on two occasions, once in 2020 and again in 2026.
Perez-Garcia claimed that Redondo Beach police officers had informed him a couple of years prior that ICE was actively seeking him.
Redondo PD had told me about it, you know, Redondo PD was cool with it. They let me go with it, you know what I mean, but they also told me I had a warrant for my arrest,
he stated, describing his interactions with local law enforcement.
He then expressed a perspective often articulated by federal agencies regarding local cooperation:
So, for sanctuary policies, what we ask these jurisdictions is to cooperate with us,
he said, adding,
It will make our communities safer.
Personal Reflections on Consequences
Perez-Garcia conveyed that he views his arrest by ICE as a fair outcome.
I was trying to lie about it because I actually don’t got nothing there in Mexico right now, you know what I mean? I grew up right here, and this is what I know,
he explained. He further noted that his children reside in the U.S. and that he had heard accounts of the significant challenges involved in returning to the United States after deportation.
I don’t know what’s going to happen, to tell you the truth,
he admitted, concluding,
I already knew it was going to catch up to me; I just didn’t know when.
