An illegal migrant from Venezuela who shot and injured a cop in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday was set to be deported after entering the US last year — but an immigration judge gave him a second chance to stay in the country, a Homeland Security source told The Post.
Alleged cop shooter Jorge Chacon-Gutierrez, 25, crossed the southern border in November 2023 with a group of nearly 600 migrants, according to the source.
At the time, border agents were processing him for “expedited removal,” but he argued he had a fear of persecution in Venezuela so he went before an asylum officer, who rejected his claim and continued to process him for removal.
Chacon-Gutierrez, however, asked to make his claim before an immigration judge, who quickly vacated his order of removal and let his case continue.
The case highlights how the US immigration system has “so many loopholes,” the source said.
Chacon-Gutierrez allegedly got into a shootout with police, who were responding to a domestic violence call in the early morning hours, before he died, police said.
The Venezuelan national allegedly fired the first shots, but it’s unclear how he died.
Chacon-Gutierrez’s girlfriend told police he had assaulted her. When cops entered the apartment, they found Chacon-Gutierrez lying in bed with a rifle by his side.
He then allegedly began shooting at the responding officers, who returned fire and exited the apartment.
A female officer was injured after being shot multiple times during the shooting, police said. She was later taken to a hospital and underwent surgery.
“The officer is in good spirits but has a long road to recovery ahead of her,” a spokesperson for the San Antonio police told The Post.
The shooting is just one of several recent prominent violent crimes committed by migrants who were recently vetted and released into the US.
Two migrants from Venezuela are accused of raping and brutally killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston last month.
In New York, Venezuelan gang members associated with the violent Tren de Aragua have been committing moped snatch and grab robberies, smuggling guns into city-run migrant shelters and attacking cops.
Police are currently investigating whether the man who shot and killed two people outside a Brooklyn migrant shelter on July 21 had links to the gang.