Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that 822 criminal aliens, gang members, child predators, and other immigration offenders were arrested in a weeklong operation across Southeast Texas.
The enforcement action, carried out between Aug. 17 and Aug. 23, was part of ongoing efforts to target what officials describe as the “worst of the worst” threats to public safety. The arrests included five transnational gang members, seven convicted child predators, and three individuals with homicide-related convictions.
“During the past four years, transnational gang members, foreign fugitives and other violent criminal aliens took advantage of the crisis at our southern border to illegally enter the country,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez. “Many of them remained in the Houston area and have gone on to wreak havoc in our local communities. This weeklong operation focused on targeting those threats to public safety.”
Among those arrested were:
- Jorge Eliseo Torres-Soto, 30, a Guatemalan national convicted of sexual assault of a child in 2024.
- Manuel Ivan Castillo Estrada, 36, a Mexican national deported three times and convicted of alien smuggling in 2011 and sexually assaulting a minor in 2024.
- Francisco Eduardo Bonilla, 37, an El Salvadoran national convicted of sexual indecency with a minor earlier this year in Harris County.
- Lloyd Tinashe Hwehwe, 36, a Zimbabwean national convicted of intoxication manslaughter in 2015 and later reentering the country illegally.
- Fuad Farah Ikhbeis, 57, a Jordanian national convicted of sexual indecency with a minor in 1995.
- Carlos Vega-Ramirez, 38, a Mexican national deported twice with multiple convictions, including child sex offenses, forgery, and illegal reentry.
- Hemerlindo Antonio Ascencio-Merino, 53, an El Salvadoran fugitive wanted for aggravated homicide in his home country.
- William Alexander Telles Amaya, 35, an El Salvadoran national with three prior convictions for child sex offenses dating back to 2006.
- Cruz Leandro Martinez Leiva, 25, an El Salvadoran MS-13 member convicted of robbery and armed carjacking in 2018.
- Alejandro Perez Miramontes, 54, a Mexican national deported 12 times with convictions for illegal entry, robbery, larceny, and burglary.
ICE reported that 330 of the individuals arrested had previously been ordered removed, and more than 100 had reentered the country illegally after prior deportations.
Martinez said operations like this are aimed at restoring safety to communities impacted by repeat offenders. “This weeklong operation focused on targeting those threats to public safety and resulted in the successful arrests of 822 illegal aliens,” he said.
The operation was carried out with assistance from Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Diplomatic Security Service, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
