Migrant Influencer Leonel Moreno Waves Wads of Cash and Mocks US Citizens for Working 'Like Slaves'

A Fugitive Venezuelan TikTok creator Leonel Moreno, is on the run from immigration since he crossed the border at Eagle Pass, Texas back in April 2022. He has again gone viral for all the wrong reasons for posting a series of videos on Instagram. Moreno, 27 has taken to other social media platforms after his TikTok account got banned, and he continues to post videos online. Earlier Moreno had caused chaos by reportedly sharing tips on how to live off the US government. Now he is making news for mocking US citizens and for urging his followers to squat at vacant homes.

The Venezuelan national posted videos to Instagram on Wednesday of himself flashing wads of cash. "I didn’t cross the Rio Grande to work like a slave," he said in one of the clips. "I came to the US to mark my territory," he continued in Spanish, via New York Post. In another video posted on the same day, he was seen blurting Spanish lyrics and waving bills at the camera while his infant squirms around.

Moreno then claimed that currently, he has enough money to support himself and his family which consists of his wife and baby, for another 18 months without needing to work.

In one of the videos, he also talked about his TikTok ban, stating that he will be getting it back soon. "Yes, they closed my TikTok account, but I keep earning on Facebook and Instagram. I won’t earn the same, but I am going to get my TikTok account back. I am going to keep earning money," he added. Before being shut down, the illegal immigrant had more than 500,000 TikTok followers. His Instagram, which is still active has 17,500 followers.

Users in the comment section expressed concern for his baby, who features in most of his videos. Many even asked for the baby's mother who hardly ever appears in any video.

"Where is the baby’s mother? I would never let him put my child like this on blast," someone commented, via Daily Mail.

Recently, the publication also released a never-seen-before mugshot of Moreno from April 23, 2022, when he was in ICE custody. He was later enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention Program which sets migrants on parole free. He later failed to show up for his next court date and has been tagged as an "absconder" since. 

Internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) noted that Moreno has been on national news for being viral for quite some time now. They also said that Moreno gained massive traction for encouraging illegal immigration. ICE, who had initially lost track of him, is now suspecting that he is living in Columbus, Ohio.

Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office director John Fabbricatore held the Biden Administration for relying on the ATD program and said that it was a "failure", and is enabling people like Moreno to evade authorities. 

As per reports, Venezuelans are increasingly migrating to the US. Last year in September,  Venezuelans surpassed Mexicans as the largest nationality to cross US borders. As per CSIS, the outflow of refugees from Venezuela is by far the largest displacement crisis in the world with almost 7.7 million migrants as of 2023.