Two illegal immigrants who evaded deportation for decades and committed a series of crimes are now in custody — one with an immigration hold and another facing removal proceedings, federal authorities said.
The arrests highlight ongoing efforts by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track down criminal illegals who have dodged immigration enforcement and carry out President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
In Texas, Emiliano Martinez Perez was arrested Aug. 5 with the help of Texas’ San Saba County Sheriff’s Office. The Cuban national is a convicted drug trafficker who has arrests dating back to 1998.
Emiliano Martínez Pérez, a 54-year-old Cuban with a history of drug trafficking. Failed to appear at a court hearing related to new charges of kidnapping, sexual assault, unlawful detention, and illegal tattoos, arrested https://t.co/M7ysBc3zoU
— ⚠️Usual Suspects (@JayeB62620916) September 9, 2026
Acting ICE Director David J. Venturella called attention to the fact “this criminal illegal alien was ordered removed from the U.S. more than 26 years ago.”
ICE also lodged a detainer for Martinez Perez following another recent arrest and highlighted how the 287(g) program helps keep repeat offenders off the streets.
“This is exactly why the partnerships under the 287(g) program matter,” Venturella said. “They enable our law enforcement partners to help us keep dangerous criminal illegal aliens from being released back into American communities.”
In Las Vegas, immigration officers arrested criminal illegal Jaime Tan Francisco, from the Philippines, who was wanted for arson and other charges. He first entered the United States in 2000 and has a criminal history dating back 20 years.
“Criminal illegal aliens are unwelcome in the U.S., and ICE is partnering with state and local police to keep them off our streets and out of our communities,” Venturella said in a statement on Francisco’s arrest.
In Martinez Perez’s case, the now 54-year-old Cuban entered the U.S. sometime prior to 1998, when he was first convicted of cocaine possession. He was issued a final order of removal Feb. 29, 2000, ICE officials said.
In 2007, a judge convicted him of drug trafficking. He also illegally reentered the U.S. in Texas in June 2018.
“Since then, he was convicted of drug trafficking, and now he’s in jail facing charges for kidnapping, indecent assault, unlawful restraint and illegal tattooing,” Venturella said.
Texas’ San Saba County Sheriff’s Office notified ICE officers in July when Martinez Perez failed to appear for a scheduled hearing related to his current charges.
He now awaits criminal proceedings in local custody, and will be turned over to ICE custody “when the criminal justice system is finished with him,” ICE officials said.
In Las Vegas, ICE Salt Lake City tracked down Francisco, 55, after he had another run-in with the law in July.
Las Vegas police arrested him for domestic battery, using or possessing drug paraphernalia, resisting an officer, attempted arson and drug possession.
He was convicted of misdemeanor harassment on July 5, 2006, and then of methamphetamine possession in 2014, Venturella said.
Francisco arrived in Detroit in April 2000 and had authorization to stay until Oct. 26 of that year, ICE officials said. He never left and remained in the country illegally.
ICE took him into custody Aug. 2, where he will remain pending removal proceedings.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin’s leadership, ICE is carrying out its mandate to enforce this nation’s immigration laws and remove public safety threats from American communities,” Venturella said.
