Honduran National Convicted of Sex Crime Against Preteen Family Member Arrested in Alabama ICE Operation
Federal immigration authorities have apprehended a Honduran national convicted of a sex offense against a minor family member, following a targeted enforcement operation in Alabama. Nixon Rubilio Mayen-Fernandez was arrested on January 21 by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Huntsville, Alabama.
Mayen-Fernandez had been previously convicted of sexually assaulting his 11-year-old sister. According to ICE officials, the arrest was the result of a lead from the Department of Homeland Security’s Child Exploitation Investigation Unit, which specifically tracks foreign nationals with sex offender records residing within the United States. Agents from HSI Huntsville coordinated with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office to verify his compliance with the sex offender registry. At the request of federal authorities, Mayen-Fernandez reported to the Sheriff’s office, where he was taken into custody for immigration violations.
Records indicate that Mayen-Fernandez entered the United States illegally more than a decade ago. He was encountered by U.S. Border Patrol in 2015 and issued a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge. However, he failed to attend a scheduled hearing in Dallas, Texas, in 2016 and was subsequently ordered deported in absentia. His recent arrest was part of a broader operation in Alabama that targeted 17 registered sex offenders. “Not only did this criminal illegal alien unlawfully enter the United States, but he also committed a heinous sex crime against his own family,” stated HSI Alabama Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank.
This apprehension occurs amidst an intensified national focus on crimes committed by undocumented individuals. Immigration enforcement advocates frequently cite cases like Mayen-Fernandez’s to argue for stricter border control and more aggressive deportation policies, highlighting the potential danger posed by individuals who evade initial removal orders. The operation in Alabama underscores the ongoing efforts by federal agencies to locate and remove non-citizens with serious criminal records who remain in the interior of the country.
However, criminologists and immigration policy experts caution against using individual, high-profile cases to generalize about the criminality of the immigrant population. Comprehensive studies, including research from the Cato Institute and Northwestern University, consistently indicate that immigrants—both legal and undocumented—have lower incarceration and crime rates than native-born U.S. citizens. A 2024 analysis of Texas arrest data found that undocumented immigrants were arrested at less than half the rate of native-born citizens for violent and drug crimes. Critics of the “migrant crime wave” narrative argue that highlighting specific, sensational cases can distort public perception and obscure the statistical reality that immigrants do not drive up aggregate crime rates.
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