The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has arrested several individuals in Minnesota over the weekend as part of Operation Metro Surge. The arrests, which took place from January 23 to 25, involved people described by DHS as "worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens." Those detained include individuals convicted or charged with offenses such as sexual crimes, domestic abuse, fraud, robbery, and violent assault.
A DHS spokesperson stated, "We are in Minneapolis to protect Minnesotans from criminal illegal aliens and get these criminals out of their neighborhoods. Our recent arrests on Friday and over the weekend included sexual predators, domestic abusers, perpetrators of fraud, robbers, and violent assailants. Instead of thanking our law enforcement, sanctuary politicians have repeatedly villainized and dehumanized our law enforcement—even comparing them to the Nazi Gestapo. Despite these smears, our law enforcement continue to risk their lives in the face of unprecedented violence and threats against them to get criminal illegal aliens off the streets."
Among those arrested were Chue Moua from Laos for child sex crimes; Son Ngoc Tran from Vietnam for sexual conduct and burglary; Manuel Neptali Alvarado-Alvarado from Ecuador for endangering a child; Bandia Solano from Guinea for domestic assault and other charges; Esdras Aaron Rodriguez-Hernandez from Guatemala for domestic assault; At Xayasounethone from Laos for assault; Ramon Cuellar-Hernandez from Mexico for assault and fraud; Ever Evelio Ramos-Lopez from Honduras for assault; Jessica Magali Sautunce-Sillo from Ecuador for domestic assault; Juan Antonio Pena-Perez from Mexico for organized crime activity; Victor Manuel Carranza from Honduras for larceny and identity theft; Houa Vang from Laos for larceny and drug possession; Andrey Kimchuk from Ukraine for first-degree robbery; Calixto Jarquin-Pena from Mexico for burglary-related offenses; and Joel Geronimo-Sampayo, a Mexican citizen with an arrest record including identity theft.
These arrests come amid ongoing debates about immigration enforcement policies in cities like Minneapolis that have declared themselves sanctuary jurisdictions.
