Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Thursday arrested illegal immigrants across the United States, many of whom were convicted of offenses involving minors.
“These aren’t just low-level offenders – they are sickening sexual predators and smugglers who pose real public safety threats to Americans,” said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a news release. “These are grisly criminals who exploited children, smuggled illegal aliens, and stalked Americans.”
The news came two days after the Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that ICE agents arrested more than 200 illegal immigrants in Houston in the past six months who have been charged or convicted of a sex offense involving a minor.
The total of 214 arrests made through ICE’s Houston field office in the first six months of President Donald Trump’s second term are three more than the total arrested in fiscal 2024, the last of the Biden administration’s immigration policies, DHS said in a news release.
Of the 214 arrests, 179 individuals had final orders of removal from an immigration judge and 141 have been deported.
“Thanks to ICE Houston, there are 214 less pedophiles on our streets. These are the type of perverted predators ICE is targeting and removing from our country,” McLaughlin said. “President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem will not allow these sickos to prey on children in the U.S.
“Our message to these depraved criminals is clear: LEAVE NOW. If you don’t, we will hunt you down and deport you.”
DHS included a list of some of the most notorious illegal immigrants apprehended Thursday:
- Taide Garcia-Penaloza, 45, a Mexican national who was convicted of indecency with a child — sexual contact in Bexar County, Texas.
- Antonio Nava-Capilla, 48, a Mexican national convicted of child abuse inflicting serious injury in Park City, Utah.
- Angel Ivan Ramirez-Escobedo, 20, a Mexican national convicted of human smuggling in El Paso, Texas.
- Jose Hernan Lucero-Lucero, 35, an Ecuadorian national convicted of unlawful surveillance and acting in a manner to injure a child under 17 in Suffolk County, New York.
- Leuam Vannavong, 50, a Laotian national convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a family member in Grand Haven, Michigan.
DHS released a similar list of those apprehended by the House field office:
- Alvin Manuel Alvarez-Garcia, who was arrested Feb. 28 on charges of sexual assault of a child against their will.
- Wilmer Eduardo Banegas-Mejar, 24, a Honduran national who was arrested on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor under 14.
- Tayson Bautista Ramos, 27, a Guatemalan national who was last arrested on charges of lewd molestation of a minor.
- Juan Francisco Larios Cantarero, a Salvadoran national who was last sentenced to eight years in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a child in Dallas County.
- Jorge Humberto Carballeria, a Cuban national who had a prior removal order and a 2005 conviction for sexual assault of a child. He was arrested again in June on charges of sexual assault of a child under 14.
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