ICE arrests illegal immigrant Illinois teacher linked to Tren de Aragua mass shooting

EXCLUSIVE: A former Illinois teacher living in the United States illegally, who was allegedly involved in a 2024 Tren de Aragua mass shooting that killed three people at a Chicago house party, was arrested by federal authorities, officials said Monday.

Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela with dual citizenship in Italy, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on May 13, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.

Occhipinti entered the U.S. in October 2021 under the Visa Waiver Program and was supposed to leave by Jan. 2, 2022. She overstayed her visa, DHS said.

On the night of the Dec. 2, 2024, shooting, she allegedly drove the two gunmen—Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and Edward Martinez Cermeno—to the scene of the crime, where five people were injured in addition to the three fatalities, authorities said.

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"Although Chicago police arrested this illegal alien shortly after the shooting, sanctuary politicians released her from jail without notifying ICE," DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. "Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS is doing the job that sanctuary politicians in Illinois refuse to do: putting the American people first and removing these dangerous criminals from our communities."

Martinez Cermeno was released from ICE custody in January 2025 after a federal judge determined that federal prosecutors failed to meet their burden of proof to keep him incarcerated while awaiting trial.

Immediately after the shooting, authorities found multiple weapons in Occhipinti’s vehicle, DHS said. Authorities believe she helped Granadillo Padilla and Martinez Cermeno evade law enforcement after the attack.

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The Chicago Police Department arrested Occhipinti on Dec. 5, 2024, on charges of unlawful use of weapons and other weapons offenses. However, she was released without ICE ever being notified under Chicago's sanctuary policies, which protect illegal immigrants from federal immigration authorities.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office decided not to prosecute the suspects, DHS said, and Granadillo Padilla and Martinez Cermeno were eventually deported.

"Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti’s actions were calculated and deliberate, leading to the loss of three lives," said HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Matthew Scarpino. "I’m proud of our agents for pursuing this case to the end, ensuring that everyone who helped facilitate this mass homicide is brought to justice."

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Fox News was told by DHS that Occhipinti was a teacher at an unspecified school in the Chicago suburb of Elgin. Illinois officials have refused to cooperate with federal authorities and will not tell DHS the name of the school, Fox News has learned.

Occhipinti is being held at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky.