U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Mar. 23 that it arrested several individuals convicted of serious crimes, including murder, aggravated sexual assault of a child, rape, and other offenses.
The announcement highlights ongoing efforts by ICE to remove people with criminal convictions from communities in the United States. According to Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis, "While Americans enjoyed their weekend, the brave men and women of ICE law enforcement were working hard to remove criminal illegal aliens from our communities, including murderers, pedophiles, rapists, child abusers, gang members and other depraved criminals." Bis also said that nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of individuals charged or convicted of crimes in the U.S.
Among those arrested were Roy Smith from Barbados for murder in Brooklyn; Pedro Portillo-Retana from Mexico for aggravated sexual assault of a child in Texas; Julio Cesar Vasquez-Mazariegos from Mexico for rape in Virginia; Francisco Esquivel-Ramirez from Honduras for endangering a child by a caretaker in New Jersey; Carlos Eduardo Baldovinos-Del Cid from Mexico for kidnapping and criminal threats in Nevada; Joan Sebastian Lancheros-Palacios from Colombia for first-degree burglary as a member of the Latin Boys gang in California; Mario Zavala-Zuniga from Honduras for second-degree kidnapping in North Carolina; Artemio Rubio-Suniga and Jose Razo-Roa both from Mexico for deadly conduct in Texas.
Other arrests included Virgilio Cortes Salina and Alejandro Gutierrez Genchi both convicted for assault charges respectively in Tennessee and Nebraska. Ilsias De Leon Cruz was arrested on multiple counts including domestic violence and forgery. Junior Isaula was convicted for offering to commit prostitution or lewdness. Santos Rivera-Romero was convicted on methamphetamine trafficking charges while Laura Lizeth Parra-Contreras was convicted on retail theft charges.
ICE stated that more information about public safety threats arrested can be found on their webpage WOW.DHS.Gov.
