‘Baby Marcos’ Guardian Tied to Criminal Past

The paternal grandfather and legal guardian of “Baby Marcos” has a lengthy arrest record and has used at least six aliases over the years, an Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman said Thursday.

INS spokesman Rudy Murillo said that Rene Herrera Perez, 37, of Tijuana, who was awarded custody of the U.S.-born child in January after an eight-month search for the boy’s parents, has an arrest record going back to 1969. According to Murillo, Herrera has been arrested many times for illegal entry and is known to the INS as a member of the “Frequent Crosser Club.”

Baby Marcos, whose real name is Marcos Antonio-Herrera, was discovered in May in a car with two Mexican smugglers who were attempting to bring a group of Uruguayans illegally across the border. When his identity became known in January, he was handed over to his grandfather, who works as a tile setter in Tijuana. The adoption was approved by a Mexican social service agency.

The boy’s father was identified as Marcos Antonio Herrera Perez, 17, who is the elder Herrera’s son. Both father and mother were identified as drug users by the INS. The younger Herrera was said to be an undocumented worker living in San Ysidro and the mother was said to live in Mexicali.

Murillo said the INS had “suspicions” about the grandfather before he was awarded custody of the boy. However, it was not until he was arrested Monday in San Ysidro on charges of illegal entry that those suspicions were realized, Murillo said.