Senator Robert Menendez had an unpaid intern employed in his Senate office who was a registered sex offender and illegal immigrant. Authorities from immigration services have arrested the intern. The Department of Homeland Security instructed federal immigration agents to not arrest the individual until after the November 6 election, said an official close to the case.
The 18-year old, Luis Sanchez Zavaleta, is from Peru and was arrested by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New Jersey in front of his residence December 6. Sanchez entered the U.S. on a visitor visa that is now expired and is facing deportation. He will remain in custody until a decision is made on his status.
The Hudson County prosecutor’s office said that Sanchez in 2010 had violated the law and subsequently was required to register for being a sex offender. It was unclear what the exact charge was against Sanchez since he was a juvenile at the time and those records remain sealed to the public. An official in the prosecutor’s office said that Sanchez had registered but his name does not show up on the public registry.
A representative from Menendez’s office said she was looking into the situation and did not know all the details.
