An illegal immigrant convicted of sex crimes in Oregon, a sanctuary state for unlawful immigration, held various advisory positions on state policymaking committees as a so-called “Latinx” community leader.
Juan Pablo Villalobos Garcia, a criminally convicted Venezuelan national who had overstayed his visa, according to U.S. immigration authorities, served in several committee roles advising the state of Oregon on policy areas such as behavioral health, “health equity,” and healthcare for all, regardless of immigration status.
Before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security nabbed Garcia, a Portland-area activist and “educator,” he was on Oregon’s Community Engagement and Communications Committee to the Universal Health Plan Governance Board, which is tasked with creating a comprehensive plan for financing and administering a single-payer healthcare system that covers all Oregonians, no matter their immigration status.
Garcia’s committee is responsible for developing community outreach recommendations and informational material, as part of the universal health plan that the board will present to Gov. Tina Kotek (D-OR) and the Oregon legislature.
The board looks to committee members for “expertise and lived experience.” Committee members are recruited by the governor-appointed board and are supposed to embody “equitable representation from every region and population around the state.”
On the Oregon government website, the board’s community engagement committee describes Garcia as the executive director of LatinX Recovery Center, who is “currently in recovery from substance abuse with a criminal justice history.”
Over video conference, Garcia attended the committee’s monthly meetings as recently as Sept. 24 and would offer insight in Spanish.
Garcia, whose record reportedly includes sexual abuse and bestiality, was also an active member of the Behavioral Health Crisis System Advisory Committee, which advises the Oregon Health Authority, the state’s health department, on overseeing the statewide crisis response system.
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While on the committee, Garcia served as a certified peer support specialist. Committee members were eligible for a $166 stipend each day of work on the advisory council.
As of September 23, Garcia regularly appeared at committee meetings via video call and participated in discussions ranging from funding deliberations to legislative proposals.
At the same time, Garcia served on the Oregon Health Policy Board’s Health Equity Committee, a policymaking body formed to eliminate health inequalities in the state.
Committee members are selected by the board, which has oversight of the Oregon Health Authority, and must receive a vote of approval as part of the recruitment process.
Using an “intersectional scoring rubric,” the enlistment practices are designed to ensure that the committee is representative of “racially and ethnically diverse populations, linguistically diverse populations, immigrant and refugee populations, [and] LGBTQ+ populations,” among other “disadvantaged” communities.
Garcia’s membership bio says he uses “they/them” pronouns and represents “indigenous populations in South America from a culturally humble level, as well as Spanish-speaking BIPOC communities in Central America.”
All of Garcia’s committee work over the past year came post-conviction.
In 2020, Garcia was convicted of sexual abuse in the third degree, according to Washington County court records reviewed by the Washington Examiner. He was convicted again for failing to report as a registered sex offender in 2023.
“It is SICKENING this monster was hiding in Oregon thanks to the state’s sanctuary policies,” the Department of Homeland Security said in an X post announcing that Garcia was in the United States on an overstayed B2 tourist visa.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences,” DHS wrote. “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.
In an Instagram post last week, Garcia’s 501(c)(3) organization, LatinX Recovery Center, said he was “abducted by ICE without a warrant.”
“Juan Pablo is legally in the country, has been sober for seven years, and actively works for the community and those in the justice system who need his support,” the nonprofit’s statement said. “He is being treated like a criminal, denied the right to defend his rights, and unjustly abducted.”
Garcia has been living in Oregon for at least 10 years, he told the behavioral health crisis committee during member introductions in March 2024.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the LatinX Recovery Center for comment. Garcia’s committees were also contacted to confirm whether or not they were aware of his sex crime convictions.
