COLUMBUS, OH – A Venezuelan social media influencer who recently gained notoriety for advocating for illegal immigrants and encouraging them to squat in vacant U.S. residences is now reportedly evading immigration officials.
Leonel Moreno, the TikToker in question, has publicly stated that since his unlawful entry into the U.S., his family, including his wife and young daughter, has been receiving $350 weekly from government subsidies. Moreno, who once boasted of earning $1,000 daily through his TikTok activities, now has an inactive account that once boasted over half a million followers. Despite this, his verified Instagram account, which has around 17,000 followers, showcased two videos of him brandishing a wad of $100 bills while posing with his infant daughter.
Moreno is said to have removed his ankle monitor after being granted border parole and is now classified as an “absconder” by immigration authorities, as per documents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE has yet to comment on the situation. Moreno was reportedly granted border parole in April 2022 under the government’s Alternatives to Detention program, designed to monitor released migrants when detention facilities are at capacity.
In the past, Moreno shared with his followers his plans to profit from occupying vacant houses using squatters’ rights laws and subsequently selling them. Despite claiming a Miami-based church charity as his immigration sponsor, reports suggest he has been residing in Columbus, Ohio.
Last month, Moreno stirred controversy when he openly gloated about living off American taxpayers and rallied his TikTok followers to support a suspect in a Times Square shooting incident in New York City.
Illegal immigration from Venezuela has been increasingly in the spotlight, with one of the country’s most infamous gangs, Tren de Aragua, reportedly attempting to gain a foothold in the U.S. This gang has been linked to a number of criminal activities, including an assault on New York City police officers, an international cellphone theft ring, and indirectly to the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.