United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Houston arrested more than 350 illegal alien gang members during the first six months of the Trump administration. The group of violent offenders has cumulatively been convicted of nearly 1,700 crimes.
According to ICE, the group of foreign gang members illegally entered the United States 1,434 times, with one member of the group accumulating 40 illegal entries into the country alone, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from the Houston Enforcement and Removal Operations team. Among the criminal aliens arrested were convicted murderers, child predators, thieves, and arsonists.
The arrests in the area surrounding Texas’s largest city highlight what the agency says is its focus on arresting and removing the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens. The agency has touted the arrests of violent offenders recently through social media posts and recent press releases highlighting high-profile offenders.
Acting Field Office Director for the Houston ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Gabriel Martinez commented on the arrests saying, “Despite attempts by some to undermine the courageous work being done by our officers, the brave men and women of ICE continue to put their lives on the line every day to arrest violent transnational gang members, foreign fugitives and dangerous criminal aliens.”
Martinez emphasized the danger the criminal gang members pose to the community, adding, “In just the past couple of years in Houston, transnational gang members were responsible for brutally raping and murdering an innocent 12-year-old girl on her way to the store. Our officers know their efforts can help prevent atrocities like that from every occurring again and they won’t rest until they’re all gone.”
Among the gang members arrested by ICE in the Houston area over the past six months were:
- Milton Alexander Magana Fuentes, a 31-year-old child predator and Paisas gang member from El Salvador, arrested July 2. He has illegally entered the U.S. four times. While illegally in the U.S., Magana Fuentes has been convicted of sexual indecency with a child, failure to register as a sex offender, illegal reentry and illegal entry.
- Ronald Alberto Rivas-Aguilar, a 28-year-old MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, arrested July 21. He illegally entered the U.S. twice and has been convicted of homicide.
- Humberto Romero Avila, a 45-year-old Paisas gang member from Mexico, arrested Jan. 31. He illegally entered the U.S. 10 times. On Feb. 13, ICE deported Romero Avila to Mexico, where he was wanted for homicide. While he was in the U.S., Romero Avila was convicted of four DWIs, as well as larceny, illegal reentry and illegal entry.
- Jonathan Josue Valle-Moralez, a 31-year-old previously deported MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, arrested Feb. 24. He’s been convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm. On March 6, ICE transferred Valle-Moralez into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to be prosecuted for homicide.
- Jose Angel Martinez, a 39-year-old child predator and Paisas gang member from Mexico, arrested May 7. He illegally entered the U.S. five times and has been convicted of sexual indecency with a minor, aggravated assault of a family member, resisting arrest, burglary, drug possession and obstructing police.
- Gerardo Ortega-Contreras, 43-year-old previously deported Tango Blast gang member from Mexico, arrested June 26. He has been convicted five times for resisting/evading arrest, four times for DWI, three times each for obstructing an investigation and burglary; twice for hit-and-run, and once each for drug possession, assault and larceny.
- Jose Pizano-Tierrablanca, a 33-year-old Surenos-13 gang member from Mexico, arrested April 8. He illegally entered the U.S. four times and has been convicted of sexual indecency with a minor and illegal entry.
- Samuel Valenzuela Martinez, a 55-year-old Paisas gang member from Mexico, arrested July 7. He illegally entered the U.S. five times and has been convicted six times for DWI, three times each for assault and illegal entry, and once each for hit-and-run, larceny, cruelty toward a child, evading arrest, fraud and illegal reentry.
The illegal aliens taken off the Houston streets were members of more than 40 different criminal gangs. The group included 39 MS-13 gang members, 25 Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang members, 159 Paisas gang members, 12 Surenos-13 gang members, and 26 Tango Blast gang members. Other well-known gangs represented in the group include the Latin Kings and the 15th Street gang.
According to ICE, the 1,685 criminal convictions were for a wide variety of offenses, including abduction, homicide, sexual assault, sexual assault of a child, promotion of child pornography, aggravated assault, domestic violence, burglary, alien smuggling, sex trafficking, organized crime, drug trafficking, drug possession, arson, trespassing, unlawful possession of a firearm, illegal entry, illegal reentry, fraud, escape and evading arrest.
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.