Federal agents in Tennessee arrested three Guatemalan nationals accused of stealing Americans’ identities and Social Security numbers, with one suspect already carrying a prior deportation order.
Story Snapshot
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained three Guatemalan nationals in Tennessee on August 4 during an identity theft investigation.
- Each faces charges of aggravated identity theft, misuse of Social Security numbers, and false citizenship statements tied to unlawful work.
- One suspect, Eulalia Ordoñez-Carmelo, already had a 2023 removal order from an immigration judge.
- A New York victim reportedly discovered her Social Security number was linked to wages earned by one of the suspects in Tennessee.
What ICE Says Happened
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations office in New Orleans announced the arrests, saying agents took custody of three Guatemalan nationals accused of using stolen identities and Social Security numbers to work in Tennessee. The agency’s own statement lays out the charges plainly: aggravated identity theft, misuse of Social Security numbers, and false statements about citizenship made to get a job illegally.
Reporting tied to the case says the three were detained on August 4 as part of a broader investigation into fraudulent identity and Social Security use across Tennessee. That timeline places the arrests months before the case became public, suggesting investigators spent time building the file before making it known.
A Victim Finds Her Name Attached to a Stranger’s Paycheck
One case detailed in the reporting involves Magdalena Gómez-García, accused of using a New York resident’s identity to get hired by a Tennessee employer. The New York victim reportedly discovered the problem when she found earnings tied to her own Social Security number that she never worked for, a common warning sign of this kind of fraud.
That scenario mirrors a well-worn federal pattern. Aggravated identity theft charges are usually stacked on top of another crime, like unlawful employment or false statements, and carry a mandatory two-year prison term on top of any other sentence if a conviction sticks. The Supreme Court has ruled prosecutors must prove the defendant knew the identity belonged to a real person.
Prior Immigration History Adds Weight to the Case
Court and immigration records cited in the reporting show at least one of the three, Eulalia Ordoñez-Carmelo, had already been ordered removed by an immigration judge back on February 27, 2023, after being released on her own recognizance following an earlier citation. A second suspect, Elias Gomez-Garcia, reportedly had prior traffic infractions in South Carolina and Kentucky.
Those details matter because they show ICE was not picking names at random. The agency’s target list connected to individuals who already had contact with the immigration and legal systems, which shaped how ICE approached custody once the identity theft allegations surfaced.
Part of a Broader Enforcement Pattern
The Tennessee case fits a pattern ICE has pursued before. In 2025, the agency announced charges against 18 people in a separate immigration-related identity theft investigation, with the same trio of charges: aggravated identity theft, Social Security misuse, and false citizenship statements. A 2012 case saw two Guatemalan nationals indicted for supplying false identity documents to other illegal aliens, showing this type of fraud scheme has repeated for over a decade.
The thing that Democrats say NEVER happens… keeps happening AGAIN AND AGAIN!! ICE just locked up three Guatemalan illegal aliens in Tennessee for using stolen American Social Security numbers!!!
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Federal agents arrested Magdalena Gomez-Garcia, Elias Gomez-Garcia, and Eulalia… pic.twitter.com/KfY0KjgLSz— Blue Lives Matter (@bluelivesmtr) September 5, 2026
These charges remain allegations at this stage, and no conviction or plea has been reported. Still, the pattern of stolen Social Security numbers tied to real Americans’ paychecks and tax records touches a nerve for workers on both sides of the immigration debate, since victims of this kind of fraud can spend years untangling wage records and credit damage that follow them long after an arrest makes headlines.
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, lahora.gt, ice.gov, presidentialprayerteam.org, nashvillebanner.com
