During the 43-day Democrat-led government shutdown, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an ASTOUNDING 3,593 criminal illegal aliens in Houston alone—including hundreds of convicted pedophiles, murderers, and gang members—in what stands as one of the most aggressive enforcement operations in American history and a DEVASTATING indictment of open-border policies.
The Department of Homeland Security's announcement reveals the shocking scale of criminal aliens who had been living freely in American communities under the Biden administration's catch-and-release policies. Among those arrested were individuals wanted for aggravated intentional homicide with Interpol Red Notices, convicted child sexual predators, MS-13 gang members, and repeat deportees who had illegally reentered the country multiple times after committing serious violent crimes.
"ICE officers are facing a 1,000% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats, but they refuse to bend the knee to threats of violence and lies from sanctuary activists and the mainstream media."
The arrests represent only a fraction of President Trump's broader immigration enforcement surge. In the first six months of the administration, ICE Houston arrested 356 gang members—a 375% INCREASE compared to the Biden administration's first six months when just 75 gang members were apprehended. These criminal aliens were collectively convicted of 1,685 criminal offenses including murder, child sex crimes, sex trafficking, arson, and theft.
The most disturbing arrests involved child predators. ICE Houston apprehended 214 criminal illegal aliens charged or convicted of sex offenses involving minors in the first six months of the Trump administration—MORE than the entire 2024 fiscal year total of 211. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated bluntly: "Thanks to ICE Houston, there are 214 less pedophiles on our streets. These are the type of perverted predators ICE is targeting and removing from our country."
Among the worst offenders arrested: Leo Michel Acosta Sanchez, wanted by Interpol for homicide in Mexico; William Alexander Telles Amaya, convicted THREE times for child sex offenses; Cruz Leandro Martinez Leiva, an MS-13 gang member convicted of armed carjacking; and Alejandro Perez Miramontes, deported TWELVE times but repeatedly reentering to commit additional crimes including robbery and burglary.
The Trump administration's approach marks a DRAMATIC departure from Biden-era policies. Upon taking office in 2025, President Trump implemented sweeping reforms including aggressive removal of criminal noncitizens, cutting federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions, and passing the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" which supercharged detention and deportation capabilities. ICE daily arrests in Texas more than doubled from 85 under Biden to 176 under Trump.
The operation's timing during the government shutdown exposed Democrat priorities with crystal clarity. While Senate Democrats held the federal government hostage demanding healthcare benefits for illegal aliens, ICE agents continued working—many without pay—to remove dangerous criminals from American streets. The juxtaposition could not be more stark: Democrats fighting to provide taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens while ICE officers risked their lives to protect citizens from violent predators.
Critics of the enforcement operations—primarily Democrat politicians and immigration activists—claim ICE tactics "terrorize" immigrant communities. But the data tells a different story. According to DHS, 70% of aliens arrested by ICE have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, not counting those wanted for violent crimes in other countries, Interpol notices, human rights abusers, gang members, or terrorists. These are not sympathetic cases of hardworking immigrants pursuing the American dream—these are dangerous criminals who exploit open borders to prey on vulnerable communities.
The Houston operation represents just the beginning of what President Trump has promised will be the largest deportation effort in American history. With over 200,000 applications to join ICE law enforcement flooding in from Americans eager to help remove criminal aliens, the message is clear: the days of illegal aliens breaking America's laws with impunity are OVER. After years of Biden administration policies that allowed convicted murderers, rapists, and child predators to roam freely in American communities, the Trump administration is restoring order, protecting families, and proving that border security and public safety are not negotiable. The question for Democrats is simple: whose side are you on—law-abiding American citizens or criminal illegal aliens?