A 24-year-old undocumented migrant was arrested after posing as a 16-year-old student to enroll in an Ohio high school, according to officials.
Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra was attending a public high school in Perrysburg, Ohio, about a two-hour drive northwest of Columbus, when authorities discovered he was a Venezuelan father living in the United States illegally.
Labrador Sierra was charged with forgery after officials discovered he enrolled in high school using fraudulent documents.
According to police documents obtained by WTVG, a person claiming to be Labrador Sierra told the school in November 2023 that he had been trafficked from Venezuela and was now living in Perrysburg.
He claimed to be 16 years old and wanted to enroll as a student, which he did in January 2024 after presenting what he claimed was a Venezuelan birth certificate.
According to school officials, Labrador Sierra was an active member of the junior varsity soccer and swim teams.
In March 2024, the undocumented migrant moved into the home of a local family that had previously adopted children and hosted exchange students.
The family was eventually granted permanent guardianship of the undocumented migrant, and they assisted him in obtaining a Social Security number and an Ohio driver’s license.
The high school said he also had Temporary Protective Status and had applied for a visa.
The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News that Labrador Sierra arrived in the United States in 2019 and overstayed his visa.
According to police, on May 14, the mother of Labrador Sierra’s child contacted his new guardians and showed them an Ohio driver’s license in his name with a birthdate of March 27, 2001, as well as a Social Security card that stated it was only valid for work with DHS authorization.
The guardians then informed the high school that they had information indicating he was not a minor, according to school officials.
Labrador Sierra is said to have denied the guardians’ allegations during a meeting with district administrators.
School officials then instructed the guardians to keep Labrador Sierra off the school grounds while police investigated.
The undocumented migrant was apprehended on Monday during a traffic stop.
