Trump Deports Illegal Immigrant School Teacher Over Ties To Tren de Aragua Mass Shooting

President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign has come for a former Chicago-area teacher accused of helping Tren de Aragua gang members orchestrate a mass shooting.

Venezuelan illegal immigrant Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, allegedly drove two shooters who opened fire during a December 2024 house party in Chicago and helped them evade law enforcement, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Three people were killed in the shooting and several others were wounded.

Bye bye ???? https://t.co/GgbpY9vDG2 pic.twitter.com/ruozQIqnXB

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 23, 2026

On Friday, DHS posted a photo of Moreno Occhipinti standing on a tarmac with the caption: “Bye bye.” In the photo, the ex-educator was holding a plastic bag and wearing a sweatsuit with a smirk on her face.

Immediately after the shooting, police found multiple weapons inside Moreno Occhipinti’s car and arrested her on charges of unlawful use of weapons and weapon offense.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, however, declined to proceed with prosecuting the accused, forcing federal authorities to take matters into their own hands.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents nabbed Moreno Occhipinti on May 13.

Matthew Scarpino, Homeland Security Investigations Chicago Special Agent in Charge, called Moreno Occhipinti’s crimes “calculated and deliberate.”

Moreno Occhipinti entered the United States in October 2021 under a visa waiver program that allowed her to stay in the country until January 2, 2022, according to DHS. The ex-teacher never left.

The alleged shooters, Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and Edward Martinez Cermeno, were previously deported from the United States, DHS said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported roughly 706,000 illegal immigrants since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, and officials have said the pace of the effort is only picking up steam, according to new data DHS provided to The Daily Wire.

“Bed space and detention centers had to be rebuilt and 10,000 agents hired and Congress wouldn’t pass the big beautiful budget bill for the first six months. Everything is finally in place now so I’m optimistic the numbers will only climb higher from here,” Todd Bensman, who left his role as senior adviser to the ICE Office of the Director last month, recently told The Daily Wire.

In recent days, ICE sources have said they’re facing renewed pressure to increase arrest numbers.

“It’s wearing everyone out,” said one agency source.

“And at the same time, they want big arrests … but those take time to sit and find and wait. No vehicle stops too, which is harder. So they want big arrests and numbers at the same time. It’s hard to do both, not enough time or days to do it,” the source said.