Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Houston announced the arrest of 277 foreign nationals during a two-week enforcement operation, with officials saying those taken into custody had a combined 751 criminal convictions and 654 prior illegal entries into the United States.
The operation, conducted between April 6 and April 17 with assistance from federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, focused on individuals with prior criminal histories and those subject to immigration enforcement.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the arrests included 17 individuals with child sex offense convictions, six with homicide-related convictions, 16 with drug trafficking convictions, 15 gang members or associates, 67 with robbery-related convictions, and 11 with convictions tied to hit-and-run offenses.
Federal officials said the operation also identified 156 convictions for driving while intoxicated, including 13 individuals with three or more such convictions, 74 assault-related convictions, 108 drug possession convictions, and 29 convictions for resisting or evading arrest.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston acting Field Office Director Paul McBride said cooperation between local, state, and federal agencies played a significant role in the operation.
“Partnerships with local and state law enforcement help officers identify and remove individuals who present public safety concerns,” McBride said. “Those relationships allowed us to arrest hundreds of offenders in a short period of time.”
Among those highlighted by federal officials was Haydee Mercado-Rodriguez, a Salvadoran national and alleged MS-13 member who authorities said had been sentenced in El Salvador to 228 years for homicide, extortion, and participation in a terrorist organization before later being arrested in Texas on April 9.
Officials also identified Minh Duy Tong Nguyen, a Vietnamese national convicted of murder in Houston in 1991 who had a longstanding final order of removal, and Carlos Carmona-Palomo, a Mexican national wanted in Mexico on homicide charges who also had prior U.S. convictions, according to ICE.
Several cases involved convictions for crimes against minors. Federal authorities listed multiple individuals from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Ecuador who had prior convictions for sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child, online solicitation of a minor, or sexual exploitation of a minor.
ICE also highlighted repeat immigration violators, including individuals with multiple prior removals or repeated unlawful entries. Authorities said some subjects had entered the United States more than 10 times, with one individual recorded at 24 prior entries.
Federal officials said several of those arrested have already been removed from the country, while others remain in custody pending immigration proceedings.
The Houston area has been the site of repeated immigration enforcement operations because of its size, transportation infrastructure, and large detention and processing network. ICE officials said joint operations with local partners remain a key component of those efforts.
Authorities did not release the identities of all 277 individuals arrested during the operation.
