The Old Blog in the Desert

Here’s a tale as worn as an old saddle and just as creaky–Jose Ricardo Lopez Munoz, a man who’s treated the U.S. border like a swinging saloon door, has found himself once again on the wrong side of the law—and right where the Department of Justice expected he’d be.

Mr. Munoz, a Mexican national who seems to collect aliases the way some folks collect bottle caps–18 at last count–got nabbed by ICE in Las Vegas on April 13th. That makes at least four curtain calls for his unlawful entry onto American soil—deported in ‘95, ‘97, ’13. And he still had the gall to pop back up in November 2023 like a bad penny. They say the third time’s the charm, but Mr. Munoz must be testing a theory about the fourth.

Now the DOJ, no stranger to his shenanigans, has charged him with illegal reentry again, which is putting it politely. He isn’t a fella who lost his way. The man’s record reads more like the resume of a stagecoach bandit—felonies for illegal reentry, menacing, and even picking fights with deadly weapons to boost the morale of his criminal gang.

If justice takes its course, Mr. Munoz may be trading his dusty desert escapades for a federally issued set of stripes, up to 20 years’ worth, plus three on a leash, and a mighty steep fine to boot. In short–the DOJ ain’t buying what Munoz is selling, and neither should we.

He’s had more chances than a hobo on a train, and it’s high time the law got the last hand.