By Naveen Athrappully

During President Donald Trump’s first year in office, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Houston division arrested 414 criminal illegal immigrants who were charged with or convicted of child sex offenses, the agency said in a March 9 statement.

“The 414 criminal alien child predators arrested are nearly double the number arrested during the last year of the Biden administration, when ICE Houston arrested 211,” ICE said.

According to the agency, the individuals are responsible for 761 child sex offenses, as well as 525 other criminal offenses, including robbery and homicide.

Among the arrested were a Honduran illegal immigrant convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a minor, a Mexican illegal convicted of sexual indecency with a child, an El Salvador national convicted of sexual indecency with a minor and failure to register as a sex offender, and a Colombian convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material, ICE said.

The arrests were made by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston.

“While elected officials and media pundits across the country were zealously trying to manipulate the American public with fake news stories about ICE’s public safety mission, the brave men and women of ICE were quietly going about their business to arrest and remove more than 400 dangerous child predators from our local communities,” ICE ERO Houston acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez said.

“Thanks to their tireless efforts, parents across Southeast Texas can sleep a little better tonight knowing that these pedophiles and child rapists are no longer a threat to their children.”

More recently, ICE issued a detainer request to Utah authorities for a Mexican criminal illegal immigrant charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old high school student, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a March 9 statement.

The previous administration marked that case as a “non-enforcement priority,” the department said.

Immigration Enforcement

The arrest of criminals is part of the Trump administration’s wider efforts to prevent illegal immigration and remove such individuals from the United States.

According to a March 5 statement from the DHS, more than 3 million illegal immigrants have been removed from the country under the tenure of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who was confirmed to the post by the Senate in January 2025.

Noem was reassigned on March 5 by President Donald Trump to be a special envoy for the Shield of the Americas. Sen. Markwayne Mullins (R-Okla.) has been tapped to replace her as Homeland Security secretary.

ICE arrested more than 1,538 known or suspected terrorists and 49,740 “special interest aliens” during this period, according to the department. Operations conducted by ICE and Customs and Border Protection led to the arrests of 7,808 gang members.

Democrats have criticized the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

In January, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said he met with detainees from the Dilley detention facility, and heard about “inhumane conditions” at the site, according to a Jan. 23 statement from the lawmaker’s office. Murphy said the DHS denied him access to immigrant detention facilities in Texas.

The senator alleged that some of the children were subjected to “horrifying conditions” and months-long detention at Dilley, even though they had a pending asylum claim.

“They were in the United States legally, and they got ripped out of the courtroom and put in detention because it has nothing to do with human beings. It just has to do with numbers and terrorizing families,” Murphy said.

In a Feb. 24 statement, DHS dismissed “falsehoods” about the Dilley facility, highlighting that the site is “retrofitted for families.”

Children at the facility have access to teachers, classrooms, books, toys, and outdoor activities, all “generously funded” by the U.S. taxpayer, the department stated. The facility offers infant care packages that include baby food, diapers, wipes, formula, and hygiene items.

“The media and sanctuary politicians have repeated false claims about the ICE Dilley facility, including that children are denied medical care and don’t have educational resources,” Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said.

“The truth is this facility provided proper medical care for all detainees including access to a pediatrician,” Bis said. “The fact is, being in detention is a choice. We encourage all parents to take control of their departure by using the CBP Home app and receiving a free flight home and $2,600.”