Wow. This turned around quickly.
So, there was this fellow in New Mexico, Dona Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano.
It turns out his wife had a soft heart and, when a young lad who had helped around their place as a handyman needed a roof over his head, she invited him to live in their guest house after he was evicted from the place he had been staying.
That was about a year ago.
…According to court documents, Ortega-Lopez met Cano’s wife after getting a job to install a glass door for her. It goes on to say, in April 2024, the wife offered him to stay in their casita behind their home after he was evicted from his apartment in El Paso. Ortega-Lopez added, he was introduced to Cano’s daughter and according to officials she “allowed him to hold and sometimes shoot various firearms.”
The fact that he was so comfortable living at the magistrate’s house proved to be everyone’s undoing.
First and foremost, because Cristhian Ortega-Lopez used the Cano address on his immigration papers, asking for relief in order to remain in the country.
It was especially awkward in February when Homeland Security officials in Las Cruces got a tip that the handyman living in the judge’s guest house was in the country illegally.
OH, DEAR
The DHS crew paid the Cano property a visit armed with a search warrant and holy smokes.
…On Feb. 28, Homeland Security Investigations Las Cruces conducted a search warrant on Cano’s property. Officials said they received a tip that Ortega-Lopez was in the United States illegally, was allegedly a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, and was in possession of a firearm. During the search, Ortega-Lopez and his roommates were taken into custody. He was federally charged with being in the country illegally and for having a firearm.
It turns out that the judge’s guest house was party central for Ortega-Lopez and his little friends, as well as a gathering place for firearms enthusiasts. They’d often go shooting with the judge’s daughter, April.
This sort of thing is frowned upon by the feds.
Once all that word broke, Judge Cano was forced to resign his position. Imagine that.
…The arrest followed a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) probe launched in January, which uncovered that Ortega-Lopez, who entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in December 2023, was living with other undocumented migrants and had access to firearms.
According to a press release from the Justice Department, investigators found social media posts depicting Ortega-Lopez posing with multiple guns, some of which were allegedly supplied by April Cano, the judge’s daughter, who “allowed him to hold and sometimes shoot various firearms,” the agency said.
…In a resignation letter addressed to 3rd Judicial District Chief Judge Conrad Perea, Judge Cano wrote, “Working with each of you has been a very rewarding experience for which I will remain eternally grateful,” according to Fox News. Cano’s 14-year run on the bench followed a career in law enforcement.
Ortega-Lopez was formally accused by HSI of being in the country illegally and of having ties to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that has recently drawn scrutiny from the Trump administration.
Federal authorities further allege that Ortega-Lopez not only lived with other undocumented migrants but also had access to firearms—an offense that is prohibited for noncitizens in the United States.
I’m sure the happy-go-lucky youngsters told Hizzoner they weren’t a gang, just a club, right?
Just to the south, in Las Cruces, NM, a JUDGE has resigned…
“A Doña Ana County magistrate judge has abruptly stepped down following… a possible connection to an alleged Tren de Aragua affiliate.”
Guess which one is the judge:https://t.co/CzyeGsLLBZ https://t.co/7pNEWmDnyG pic.twitter.com/ulhjkeBNbx
— Glued2TheScreen (@glued2thescreen) April 20, 2025
The powers that be in the New Mexico judiciary weren’t feeling the least bit benevolent when it came to forgiveness for the judge…
Story of the NM Judge with a TDA member living on his Property – Story just keeps getting stranger.
🔹Shortly after his resignation the State’s Judicial Standards Commission petitioned NM Supreme Court to suspend judge for “harboring a TDA gang member.” 🔹Supreme Court barred… pic.twitter.com/B7576heBia
— DogeWatchReport (@DogeWatchReport) April 24, 2025
…and the New Mexico state Supreme Court permanently barred Cano from ever serving on a bench again yesterday.
A former judge who resigned last month after a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member was arrested at his home is now permanently barred from ever serving on a New Mexico bench again.
The Supreme Court of New Mexico ordered that Joel Cano “can never hold a judicial office again, be a candidate for a judicial office, and cannot exercise any judicial authority in the state, including officiating at weddings,” according to Fox News Digital.
And the videos that have been coming out of the guns that Cano’s family, which Ortega-Lopez and his gang buddies had access to, no doubt raised the hair on the back of some law enforcement necks.
Doña Ana County, NM magistrate judge could face charges after allegedly harboring an illegal alien who is believed to be TdA member. Includes commentary from retired ICE Field Office Director @JohnE_Fabb. https://t.co/oj77CvnIXX pic.twitter.com/WyjhDQcEut
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) April 23, 2025
Which is probably why, besides being banned from the judiciary yesterday, Judge Cano and his wife received a visit from the FBI, and it wasn’t social.
It was all about ‘hands behind your back.’
The home of a former judge in Las Cruces was raided Thursday, following accusations that he and his wife had an alleged Tren de Aragua member living in their home. KFOX14/CBS4 cameras captured the moment both Cano and his wife, Nancy, were handcuffed. https://t.co/LWvz39b8bt pic.twitter.com/sL5zjafIdC
— KFOX14 News (@KFOX14) April 24, 2025
The pictures of this guy with these criminals are just nuts.
How it started and how it ended! This is how it’s done!
Judge Juan Cano and his wife arrested by federal authorities after they harbored a TDA gang member at home. pic.twitter.com/9pgmlJiaHn
— Log Home Mom and Dad (@LogHomeMomDad) April 24, 2025
This report is chock-full of the craziest stuff, photo-wise.
Former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, were taken into custody Thursday after federal agents raided their Las Cruces home.
The two face charges of evidence tampering amid allegations they harbored Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, an alleged illegal alien who is also believed to be a member of Venezuela’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang.
“Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens—including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang,” said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem. “If you are here illegally and break the law, we will hunt you down, arrest you and lock you up. That’s a promise.”
The arrest follows a February incident where Ortega-Lopez was apprehended at the Cano residence. Court documents reveal that he was initially hired by Nancy Cano for home repairs and later offered accommodation in the couple’s guesthouse.
It’s kind of hard to swallow that this couple didn’t have a clue for over the year this gangbanger lived with them that maybe he and his equally hardened buddies weren’t Boy Scouts. And what kind of law enforcement official would have a day laborer of sketchy origins living at his house to begin with, especially in this day and age?
To say it’s very strange doesn’t begin to cover it.
It sure is going to be interesting to see what the feds scooped up when they got to the house.
Is this a batty older, willfully blind couple, or are they part of something bigger, like a cartel angle, schmaybe?
I’ve seen a ton of comments about corruption in the New Mexico judiciary, too.
The entire situation strains credulity.
What a mess.
