United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents rounded up 239 criminal illegal aliens in Los Angeles during targeted enforcement operations last week. Some of the illegal aliens arrested had been convicted or accused of manslaughter, theft offenses, and aggravated rape of a minor.
ICE made the arrests during a weeklong operation from May 4 to May 10 focused on bolstering public safety in the greater Los Angeles area.
According to the agency, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and interagency partners identified, detained, and removed dangerous criminals throughout Los Angeles and surrounding cities. In an announcement on Wednesday highlighting the arrests, ICE warned criminal aliens in the United States illegally to self-deport and avoid arrest by ICE.
Criminal aliens arrested during the operation included:
- Lan Pham, a 49-year-old Citizen of Vietnam, is illegally in the United States. According to ICE, Pham is a career criminal who has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon, parole violations, drug violations, and several other offenses.
- Manuel Angel Rodriguez-Martinez, a 40-year-old Salvadoran national is accused of aggravated rape of a minor or incapacitated individual in the category of continuing crime in his home country.
- Jorge Artero Meza-Rodriguez, a 52-year-old citizen of Mexico who is illegally in the United States. Meza has been convicted of vehicle theft, assault with a deadly weapon, and felony illegal re-entry into the United States.
- Sung Park is a 52-year-old citizen of Korea. Park has been convicted of voluntary manslaughter and is also in the United States illegally.
Several federal law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the ATF, and the U.S. Marshals Service, along with state and local law enforcement partners, assisted ICE during the operation.
Agents from multiple federal agencies are combatting illegal immigration and targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) as part of President Trump’s Operation Take Back America, announced in March.
During the same week in May, more than 1,400 illegal aliens with immigration related crimes were criminally charged in federal courts as part of the ongoing operations, according to the Department of Justice.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.