Livingston County vigilante sting operation leads to two men being turned over to ICE

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Two undocumented immigrants are facing deportation after getting caught in a sting, allegedly trying to meet up with an underage boy.

They have now been handed over to ICE.

Meanwhile, the group behind the sting operation were bikers who catch predators at night.

The backstory:

'Bikers Against Predators' president, nicknamed "Boots," confronted two men. They allegedly thought they were about to have sex with a 13-year-old boy.

The group, similar to other vigilante groups out there, uses dating apps and social media, posing as children and teens, to catch child predators in the act.

"This case particularly was on Grindr, which we use sometimes, but most of our cases are from social media like Facebook, Instagram," Boots said.

Dig deeper:

28-year-old Luis Hernandez-Bonilla and 30-year-old Carlos Aguilar-Vazquez allegedly reached out to the 13-year-old decoy and planned to meet in Livingston County, between Howell and Brighton, back in April.

Investigators say Luis Hernandez, who was in the U.S. illegally from Mexico, denied that the conversation with the teen even happened, even though the thread of messages was allegedly found on Aguilar-Vazquez’s phone.

What they're saying:

Livingston County Sheriff's deputies responded and vetted the situation, which led to taking them both into custody.

"We are investigating these two individuals for solicitation of a minor. They have since been arrested and detained by ICE," said Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy. "We'll continue to do the investigation on the solicitation and, once that's done, we will turn it over to the Livingston County Prosecutor's Office."

What's next:

The men are now with ICE, with a formal federal complaint lodged against Luis Hernandez.

It’s unclear what happens next for his co-defendant.

The encounter from Bikers Against Predators will be used as evidence.

"Justice is what needs to happen, and these guys need to pay for these acts that they’ve done to our children and continue to," Boots said.