ICE Arrests Venezuelan-Born Illinois Teacher Linked to 2024 Tren de Aragua Mass Shooting
Federal agents arrested a Venezuelan-born former Illinois teacher on May 13 who is accused of driving two Tren de Aragua gang members to a Chicago house party where three people were killed and five others wounded in December 2024. Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, a dual Venezuelan-Italian national who had overstayed a visa entry, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday. Authorities say Chicago's sanctuary policies allowed her to walk free after a December arrest on weapons charges without ICE ever being notified.
Federal agents arrested a Venezuelan-born former Illinois teacher on May 13 who is accused of driving two Tren de Aragua gang members to a Chicago house party where three people were killed and five others wounded in December 2024. Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, a dual Venezuelan-Italian national who had overstayed a visa entry, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday. Authorities say Chicago's sanctuary policies allowed her to walk free after a December arrest on weapons charges without ICE ever being notified.
The Dec. 2 Shooting and Occhipinti's Alleged Role
Occhipinti entered the United States in October 2021 under the Visa Waiver Program and was required to leave by Jan. 2, 2022. She remained in the country and was working as a teacher at a school in Elgin, a Chicago suburb, when the shooting occurred. On the night of Dec. 2, 2024, she allegedly transported gunmen Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and Edward Martinez Cermeno to the scene of the attack. Authorities recovered multiple weapons in her vehicle after the shooting and believe she assisted the two men in evading law enforcement.
Sanctuary Policies and the Gap in Federal Notification
Chicago police arrested Occhipinti on Dec. 5, 2024, on charges of unlawful use of weapons and related offenses. Under Chicago's sanctuary policies, which bar local authorities from alerting federal immigration agents, ICE was never notified of her arrest or release. The Cook County State's Attorney's office subsequently declined to prosecute, DHS said. Granadillo Padilla and Martinez Cermeno were eventually deported; Martinez Cermeno had earlier been released from ICE custody in January 2025 after a federal judge found prosecutors had not met the burden of proof to hold him pending trial.
DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement that sanctuary officials in Illinois had failed to prioritize public safety, and that federal authorities had acted where local politicians would not.
Federal Response and School Identity Withheld
HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Matthew Scarpino said Occhipinti's alleged actions were calculated and deliberate, and that investigators pursued the case to ensure all those who facilitated the mass shooting faced accountability. Occhipinti is currently held at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky.
Illinois officials have declined to cooperate with federal authorities and have not disclosed the name of the Elgin school where Occhipinti taught, DHS said. The department said it learned of her employment through its own channels. No federal charges against Occhipinti have been publicly detailed beyond the immigration violation and the circumstances of the December arrest.