Once-deported illegal convicted of child sex abuse found in Kansas City; fraudulent visa ring exposed

Multiple Kansas City-area residents pled guilty in federal court on Tuesday to crimes concerning illegal immigration.

Mexican national Jose Luis Morales Salgado, 37, ran a conspiracy ring in Kansas City to help over 30 illegal aliens deceptively obtain legal status. He orchestrated fake robberies in which illegal immigrants posed as victims so they could apply for U Visas.

“The U nonimmigrant status (U visa) is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity,” according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Salgado hired people to pose as robbers in the simulated crimes. The shams involved the visa-seeking illegal immigrants pulling a vehicle over due to “car trouble.” They would get out of the car to diagnose the issue and the pretend robbers would arrive in another car, parking near the “victims.”

The supposed criminal, wearing a medical mask and holding a gun, would hit the victims in the head or face, take their money and fire two rounds into the victim’s vehicle before driving away.

Salgado coached the victims to deliver a false report of the robbery to law enforcement to boost the likelihood of receiving a U Visa.

Sources told investigators over 100 participants were involved in the scheme. From December 2021 to July 2024, 11 robberies with 33 fake victims took place, with 18 of them submitting U Visa applications deceitfully claiming to be targets of a violent crime.

The heists were linked together after the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) compared cartridges from each crime scene, and detectives determined one gun was most likely used in all the robberies. City cameras and license plate readers led investigators to defendant Oscar Gutierrez, who’s facing the same charges as Salgado.

An undercover federal agent offered Salgado $4,000 for a staged robbery and recorded the meeting, leading to Salgado’s arrest in January 2025.

On Tuesday Salgado pled guilty in federal court to participating in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain immigration visas. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole.

In a separate case on Tuesday, an illegal alien from El Salvador, Jose Antonio Del Cid, pled guilty to one count of unlawfully returning to the U.S. after removal subsequent to being convicted of an aggravated felony.

Del Cid, 54, was arrested by ICE last fall after being detained for trespassing. He was previously deported in 2023 after serving a two-year sentence for aggravated sexual battery with a child under 13 years old in Virginia.

Del Cid faces up to 20 years in federal prison without parole along with a maximum fine of $250,000. He’ll remain in custody leading up to his sentence hearing.