A Venezuelan TikTok user named Leonel Moreno, who was living in the U.S. illegally, gained infamy for posting videos encouraging other illegal immigrants to invade empty homes and claim squatter’s rights.
Moreno also boasted of living off government assistance without working.
“I found out that there is a law that says that if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it,” Moreno said.
“I think that will be my next business, invading abandoned houses.”
ICE has now taken Moreno into custody after he failed to appear for an immigration court hearing in Florida.
Moreno had absconded from an ICE monitoring program after crossing the border illegally in April.
His TikTok videos advocating crime drew widespread attention and likely contributed to his arrest.
However, it remains to be seen if the Biden administration will deport Moreno given its lackluster immigration enforcement record thus far.
