The suspect accused of murdering two individuals during a shooting at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Irving was in the country illegally, according to Immigration authorities.
The shooting took place around 3:40 p.m. on Wednesday. After the shooter fled the scene, a manhunt ensued. Irving police arrested Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, 37, early Thursday morning.
The suspect’s booking information revealed a hold from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. An ICE hold instructs law enforcement agencies to detain an individual for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release date, allowing ICE to take custody of the individual for potential immigration enforcement actions.
According to a Fox News report, ICE confirmed Mendoza was in the country illegally.
An ICE spokesperson told Texas Scorecard “On June 27, 2024, the Irving Police Department arrested Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, a 37-year-old citizen and national of El Salvador, charging him with Capital Murder of Multiple Persons.”
The spokesperson said that on the same date “officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Dallas lodged an immigration detainer with the Irving Police Department on Mendoza.”
While ICE has not commented on the exact nature of Mendoza’s illegal status, data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection reveals that the number of illegal aliens with criminal backgrounds entering the U.S. has spiked in recent years. Since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2024, more than 13,000 “criminal noncitizens” have attempted to cross the border and have been apprehended by Border Patrol agents.
According to CBP, “criminal noncitizens” are “individuals who have been convicted of one or more crimes, whether in the United States or abroad, prior to interdiction by the U.S. Border Patrol.”
