A 24-year-old Venezuelan man in the country on an expired visa enrolled at Perrysburg High School for more than a year after providing false documents claiming he was 16 years old.
Now, a state lawmaker is demanding action from the school system, questioning its ability to protect students.
“I am deeply troubled by news that a 24-year-old Venezuelan man was admitted to a public high school in Wood County after claiming to be 16,” State Representative Josh Williams said in a statement posted to X. “We need answers from Perrysburg Schools. I seriously doubt the school system’s ability to keep our students safe when it can’t even affirm the immigration status or age of this man.
“I will be following up very soon with more detailed questions for the school district,” Williams added. “As your representative, it is my job to keep the children of this state safe, in school and otherwise. When local districts fail this most basic responsibility, you can believe the legislature will get involved.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p
lang="en" dir="ltr">I will keep introducing immigration
reform bills until every single illegal immigrant is out of Ohio—one bill at a
time. <a href="https://t.co/Fdo8H9YeK0">https://t.co/Fdo8H9YeK0</a>
<a
href="https://t.co/yMcWvU4ZSU">pic.twitter.com/yMcWvU4ZSU</a></p>—
Representative Josh Williams (@JoshWilliamsOH) <a
href="https://twitter.com/JoshWilliamsOH/status/1924936901926048226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May
20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"
charset="utf-8"></script>
Williams has been an ardent opponent of illegal immigration and communities that flout federal immigration laws. He sponsored House Bill 26, the Protecting Ohio Communities Act, which mandates Ohio jurisdictions to follow federal immigration laws or risk losing federal homeland security funding and Local Government Fund distributions.
According to reports, the Perrysburg Police Department charged Anthony Labrador with felony forgery, and he was set to appear in a Wood County court. Labrador reportedly contacted school officials in November 2023, looking to enroll in school and claiming to be trafficked from Venezuela and residing in Perrysburg.
Fox 19 reported that Labrador claimed he was born on Dec. 2, 2007, and had an Ohio driver’s license and a Social Security number, which he used to enroll. He also provided a completed VISA application and purportedly had temporary protective status from the feds.
He started attending the school after he provided what he said was a Venezuelan birth certificate in January 2024.
Police reports said a local family that had previously housed exchange students was contacted about Labrador during enrollment. They agreed to help, and Labrador moved into their home in March 2024.
The family was given temporary guardianship over Labrador two months later and permanent guardianship in November 2024. Officials said the family helped him procure a Social Security number and an Ohio driver’s license.
However, last week, according to Perrysburg police, a woman who had a child with Labrador reached out to his guardians to alert them that he wasn’t a teenager but a 24-year-old man.
The mother sent the family proof, including photos and documents. One of the documents was an Ohio driver’s license with the name of Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra, purportedly born on March 27, 2001.
The revelation prompted local police to contact border patrol officials, who confirmed Labrador had overstayed his time in the United States as his visa status expired in 2023.
“Multiple [agencies] were misled by these falsified records,” WTOL-TV quoted school spokesperson Rachel Zickar as saying.
Following the allegation, school officials spoke with Labrador, who denied the claim. However, school officials ordered him to stay away from the school while they investigated.
“This case involves highly unusual and deceptive circumstances that impacted many local, state and federal agencies,” Fox 19 quoted Perrysburg Schools Superintendent Tom Hosler as saying in the letter to parents.
“The school district has reviewed its actions regarding enrollment and is confident proper legal channels were followed to provide support for an individual presenting themselves as an unaccompanied minor as spelled out in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act,” Hosler added. “We appreciate our close partnership with the Perrysburg Police Division and the swift action taken.”
According to NBC News, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, passed in 1987, “requires states to ensure that homeless youths have access to the same public education as other students.”
