(José Niño, Headline USA) A Rhode Island state representative is under fire for condemning federal authorities who arrested a known MS-13 gang member on fentanyl trafficking charges.
State Rep. Enrique Sanchez has doubled down on his criticism of federal immigration enforcement, even after learning that a recent arrest involved a self-admitted MS-13 gang member with fentanyl trafficking charges.
The incident began on Sunday, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Ivan Rene Mendoza Meza, a 27-year-old Honduran national on Alverson Avenue in Providence. According to ICE, Mendoza is a self-admitted member of the violent MS-13 gang and has three prior charges for fentanyl trafficking in Rhode Island dating back to 2023.
The arrest occurred after Mendoza attempted to flee from ICE agents, causing a crash by striking ICE vehicles before running into his apartment, where he was eventually surrounded and surrendered.
Rep. Sanchez immediately took to social media to condemn the arrest, posting inflammatory language that called ICE agents “Nazi Gestapo ICE thugs” and described the operation as an “act of terror.”
The Nazi Gestapo ICE thugs kidnapped another of our neighbor in Providence this morning. This time on Alverson st.
The ICE thugs damaged a couple cars that belonged to residents as well. They think they are above the law. I strongly condemn this act of terror and will- pic.twitter.com/45AIqJtkRn
— State Representative Enrique Sanchez (@EnriqueForRI) July 13, 2025
In a subsequent post on Tuesday, Sanchez wrote: “The Nazi Gestapo ICE thugs kidnapped another of our neighbors in Providence this morning. This time on Alverson St. The ICE thugs damaged a couple of residents’ cars as well. They think they are above the law. I strongly condemn this act of terror.”
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin noted that Sanchez was “doubling down” by attacking the ICE agents.
He’s doubling down.
Again, the “Providence neighbor” was a known MS-13 gang member charged with fentanyl trafficking in Rhode Island.
Even knowing this, RI Democratic state rep @EnriqueForRI condemns his arrest, which he calls an “act of terror” by “Nazi Gestapo ICE thugs”. https://t.co/wHCw9pzex3
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 16, 2025
Sanchez has maintained his stance even after being informed of Mendoza’s criminal background and gang affiliation.
When questioned by local media about his remarks, Sanchez stated he was waiting for documentation to prove the MS-13 claim, but admitted he was unaware of any official records tied to the drug charges and said he was “willing to accept my mistake or my error of maybe not mentioning that, or defending someone who was dealing with drug trafficking.”
ICE had previously lodged an immigration detainer against Mendoza following his fentanyl trafficking charges in August 2023, but Rhode Island’s 6th District Court declined to honor the detainer and released him after he posted $50,000 bail. This forced ICE agents to track him down in the community rather than taking custody directly from the jail.
The incident has drawn national attention partly because of Sanchez’s own controversial background. The state representative was arrested in February on DUI charges in Cranston, where police found him stopped at a green light at 3 a.m., smelling of alcohol. He has faced calls for resignation but has refused to step down, pleading not guilty to the charges.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino