Tennessee lawmakers are reacting to Monday’s Tennessee Star report that two illegal aliens living in Tennessee have been arrested in what the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) calls an ongoing criminal investigation into a multinational human sex trafficking ring.
“Two illegal aliens caught & arrested in Tennessee have been linked to a multinational human trafficking ring,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on X. “Under Joe Biden, every town is a border town. We must close the border.”
Two illegal aliens caught & arrested in Tennessee have been linked to a multinational human trafficking ring.
Under Joe Biden, every town is a border town.
We must close the border.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) March 18, 2024
State Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) also weighed in.
“Dangerous criminals continue to exploit the Biden administration’s open-border policies and threaten the safety of Tennesseans,” he told The Star by email. “This illegal immigration crisis will only get worse until our nation’s borders are properly secured.”
Several Democrat members of the Tennessee General Assembly, including outspoken State Rep. Justin Jones (R-Nashville) did not return requests for comment.
Monday, The Star reported that Yilibeth Rivero De Caldera (pictured here), arrested last fall as part of the criminal investigation, and Kleiver Daniel Moto Rivero, arrested last week as part of the same investigation, were both present in the United States illegally.
De Caldera and Moto Rivero are being held at the Davidson County Jail. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has levied detainers against them, which should allow for their deportation upon the conclusion of the legal proceedings against them.
De Caldera has been charged with nine counts of Trafficking for a Commercial Sex Act. She is accused of smuggling Central and South American women into the United States, and in exchange for bringing them to the United States, forcing them to prostitute themselves.
Moto Rivero has been charged with two counts of Trafficking for a Commercial Sex Act and one count of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and has ties to a criminal organization Tren de Aragua, which has been described as “the most powerful criminal structure in Venezuela.”
Along with TBI, the arrests and investigation are being conducted in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) and the United States Marshals Service.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
Image “Sen Marsha Blackburn” by Sen. Marsha Blackburn and “State Rep. Gino Bulso” by Gino Bulso.
