U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out a nationwide operation over Halloween weekend targeting what officials described as the “worst of the worst” among undocumented immigrants — those already convicted of serious crimes such as s*xual abuse, kidnapping, and homicide.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), about 70 percent of individuals taken into custody by ICE are noncitizens charged with or convicted of crimes in the U.S., the agency told Fox News Digital.
Among those arrested was Sisawang Khambounheuang of Laos, convicted of unlawful s*xual intercourse with a minor in San Diego. In Los Angeles, Milton Rene Mendez-Arevalo, a Guatemalan national, was taken into custody after a prior kidnapping conviction.
In Houston, ICE arrested more than 120 individuals, including Hector Eugenio Ramirez-Martinez of Honduras, convicted of indecency with a child by s*xual contact in Harris County, and Francisco Nava-Garcia of Mexico, convicted of assaulting a family or household member.
Elsewhere in Texas, agents detained Kunal Chhetri, an Indian national convicted of alien smuggling in the Western District of Texas.
In Florida, ICE apprehended Lazaro Mateo Ruiz from Cuba, convicted of homicide, weapons offenses, and robbery in Miami-Dade County. On Florida’s Gulf Coast, Colombian national Juan Gomez-Gutierrez was arrested following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute five kilograms of cocaine aboard a vessel near Tampa.
In Tennessee, Juan Brito-Rios, a Mexican national, was taken into custody after convictions for large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering in the U.S. Middle District Court.
In Illinois, a state that has resisted federal immigration crackdowns, ICE arrested Brigidio Ovido Gomez Garcia, a Guatemalan national convicted of aggravated domestic battery, domestic battery, and driving under the influence in Wheaton, a Chicago suburb.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin emphasized that, despite opposition from pro-sanctuary officials, the majority of ICE arrests continue to involve individuals charged or convicted of serious crimes.
“President Trump and Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from American communities,” McLaughlin said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
She added that ICE operations would continue despite political resistance and logistical challenges.
“Despite the Democrats’ government shutdown, ICE is continuing to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country,” she noted. “While Americans enjoyed their weekends, ICE was hard at work getting the worst of the worst off our streets — including pedophiles, murderers, and kidnappers.”
