On December 16, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched Operation Buckeye in Columbus and across Ohio, focusing on arresting individuals described as the "worst of the worst" criminal illegal aliens.
“We operate in Ohio every day, but we recently surged our resources there under Operation Buckeye,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “Since Jan. 20, we’ve arrested drug traffickers, spousal abusers, thieves and worse. Many of the people we’ve arrested have final orders of removal dating back years — and none of them had legal authorization to be in the United States in the first place.”
ICE detailed several arrests made during this operation:
- Surinder Singh from India was convicted of attempted abduction and sentenced to over a year in prison. He also faced charges for a sex offense and strongarm rape in 2023.
- Abdirisiq Hassan Mohamed, 43, from Somalia has convictions for felony drug possession, criminal trespassing, theft of services, and disorderly conduct. His record includes arrests for drug trafficking and terrorizing.
- Wilmar Edgardo Lozano-Alcantara, 24, from El Salvador was convicted of felony robbery and other offenses including probation violation and criminal trespassing.
- Ignacio Giron-Giron, 47, from Guatemala was convicted twice for DUI along with other offenses such as assault and shoplifting.
- Jose Francisco Diaz-Lopez, 31, from El Salvador pleaded guilty to assault stemming from a domestic violence charge and has been arrested for disorderly conduct.
- Edilmiro Pedraza-Quinones faces multiple convictions related to drug possession and contempt of court.
- Samy Javier Amendarez Mejia from Honduras was arrested for burglary and stolen vehicle charges after entering the U.S. illegally in October 2023.
- Cesar Ovidio Ruiz-Mencia from Honduras was removed by ICE on December 8 after being convicted of robbery.
- Agustin Juarez-Rojop from Guatemala has convictions for disorderly conduct, underage consumption, public urination, DUI, marijuana possession, burglary, and resisting arrest.
- Ramon Guzman Jiminez from Mexico was convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin; he received an eight-year prison sentence and had been deported four times.
ICE encourages the public to report crimes or suspicious activity by calling their tip line or using their online form.
Further information about ICE’s public safety efforts can be found on their official X account @ICEgov.
