I don't know if the article makes that clear --- but you can bet he's a citizen of Mexico --- and you're right --- many legal immigrants are not better than the illegals --- our immigration policies are far too lax and the Mexican drug cartels are having no problem setting up their family and cartel members on the USA side. One thing you can pretty much rule out is that this thug is a hispanic American whose family has lived in the USA for many generations --- that group --- unlike the Mexicans --- has a very low crime rate --- they aren't all that inclined to get into the drug cartel business.
You didn't get that from anything I said.