The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that more than 17,500 criminal illegal aliens have been arrested and detained under the Laken Riley Act. The announcement was made in Washington, with DHS crediting President Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem for leading these efforts.
The Laken Riley Act, which was the first law signed by President Trump, requires federal authorities to detain illegal aliens accused of crimes such as theft, burglary, assaulting a law enforcement officer, or any crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury. The act is named after a Georgia nursing student who was killed by an undocumented Venezuelan national affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang. This individual had previously been arrested and released into the United States during the Biden administration and later committed the murder.
Earlier this week, Secretary Noem announced the conclusion of Operation Angel’s Honor—a 14-day nationwide initiative targeting individuals who committed offenses covered by the Laken Riley Act. During this operation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 1,030 criminal illegal aliens.
“In honor of Laken Riley, ICE launched Operation Angel’s Honor – in the last 2 weeks alone arresting more than 1,000 criminal illegal aliens under the authority of the Laken Riley Act.” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.“President Trump has empowered us to arrest and remove the millions of violent criminal illegal aliens unleashed on the United States by the previous administration. Now, these criminals will face justice and be removed from our country. We can never bring Laken back, but we can do everything in our power to bring these heinous criminals to justice. I am so proud of what our brave men and women of ICE have done to remove these criminals from America’s streets.”
DHS highlighted several arrests from Operation Angel’s Honor involving individuals from countries including Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Iraq, India:
- Sergio Luis Hernandez Gonzalez (Cuba): convicted on multiple counts including larceny and burglary.
- Jersson Andrey Poveda Delgado (Colombia): convicted of aggravated assault on a police officer.
- Yaser Garcia Ramirez (Dominican Republic): convicted for vehicle theft and drug-related offenses.
- Jorby Joel Escuraina-Suarez (Venezuela): convicted of aggravated assault with a weapon.
- Santos Chim-Diego (Guatemala): convicted for resisting an officer and aggravated assault.
- Nathaniel Antoney Sterling (Jamaica): convicted for sexual assault.
- Omar Barojas-Arenas (Mexico): convicted for kidnapping and drug possession.
- Hamid Abdulimam Al Nassar (Iraq): convicted for procuring a minor for prostitution among other charges.
- Avelino Lage-Caro (Cuba), Yorisane Lazo (Cuba), Varun Datta (India), Luz Brisseida Ramirez-Leal (Mexico), Antonio Quintana-Rodriguez (Mexico) were also named among those detained with various convictions ranging from homicide to rape.
The department states that these actions are part of ongoing efforts to enforce immigration laws and address public safety concerns related to undocumented immigrants charged or convicted with serious crimes.
