Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs | https://www.dhs.gov/
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continued to carry out arrests of individuals convicted of serious crimes over the holiday weekend, despite the ongoing government shutdown. ICE officers, working without pay due to the shutdown, detained several individuals with prior convictions ranging from child sexual abuse to violent offenses and drug trafficking.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the ongoing operations, stating, “While many Americans enjoyed the holiday weekend, our brave law enforcement worked without pay because of the Democrats’ government shutdown and continued to arrest the worst of the worst criminals-- risking their lives to arrest murderers, pedophiles, and other serial criminals. We will not allow a government shutdown to stop us from making America safe again.”
Among those arrested were Silvino Juan Martinez-Montesinos from Mexico, convicted of sexual conduct against a child in New York; Ruben Garibay Yanez from Mexico, convicted of lewd acts with a child in California; Aroldo Zavala-Murillo from Honduras, convicted of similar offenses in Los Angeles; and Jose Hernandez-Duran from Mexico, convicted of indecent liberties with a child in North Carolina. Other arrests included individuals with convictions for child pornography, assault, robbery, animal cruelty, drug offenses, and smuggling.
ICE reported that these actions were part of its ongoing efforts to remove individuals with serious criminal backgrounds from U.S. communities, regardless of the status of government funding or pay for law enforcement personnel.
