House Democratic candidate denies illegal immigrant arrested by ICE works for campaign

Chimaobim Adedayo Igbojekwe, a 35-year-old Nigerian national, was arrested Sept. 27 on one count of indecent exposure and two counts of disorderly conduct. He has since pleaded guilty to one third-degree misdemeanor disorderly conduct after the other two charges were dropped. He was arrested Oct. 1 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.A Wednesday press release from the Department of Homeland Security identified Igbojekwe as a former door-to-door canvasser for Stelson. The agency cited a local news story, whose source for its reporting was an X post from conservative activist and social media influencer Scott Presler. The Stelson campaign told the Washington Examiner they became aware of Igbojekwe after his initial arrest and that he was neither a staffer nor a volunteer.“This is false,” the campaign said of the alleged connection. “This individual is not and has never been employed by the Janelle Stelson campaign. If he is an illegal immigrant who committed a crime he should be deported. We never heard of him prior to the news of his arrest. We are grateful to law enforcement for acting swiftly to arrest him.”Igbojekwe was lawfully admitted to the United States under President Donald Trump’s first term in June 2017 but overstayed his authorization period that ended in November 2019 and was granted deferred action by the Biden administration in September 2021, according to DHS.Democrat Janelle Stelson speaks at a campaign event in her race against Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in York Haven, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Marc Levy) ICE Deputy Director Charles Wall said it was “unbelievable” that Igbojekwe would have been employed by a congressional campaign. The House GOP’s campaign arm also criticized Stelson.STELSON-PERRY REMATCH SET IN PENNSYLVANIA’S 10TH DISTRICT“Radical lunatic Janelle Stelson oversees her own failing campaign the way she’d like to see the border enforced: zero standards, no accountability, and a welcome mat for illegal creeps,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Reilly Richardson said in a statement. “Stelson wants to flood Pennsylvania communities with criminal illegal immigrants because that’s who’s propping up her campaign.”Stelson is a former local TV news anchor who casts herself as a centrist Democrat to contrast Perry’s conservatism as former head of the House Freedom Caucus and a loyal ally to Trump. Perry narrowly defeated Stelson in 2024 50.5% to 49.3%.