El Paso Standard

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced the arrest of nine individuals in the Houston area between February 24 and 28. These individuals, identified as criminal aliens, have been charged with or convicted of sex offenses and are subject to removal from the United States.

The arrests were part of a collaborative enforcement operation involving ICE, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Texas Department of Public Safety's Criminal Investigation Division, and the Texas Office of Attorney General.

"Our local communities are safer as a direct result of this targeted enforcement effort," stated Chad Plantz, ICE Homeland Security Investigations Houston Special Agent in Charge. "In just five days, working alongside our federal and state partners, and leveraging HSI’s unique investigative authorities and extensive expertise investigating child exploitation crimes, we were able to quickly locate and remove these criminal aliens from the community before they could reoffend."

Among those arrested was a 39-year-old individual from El Salvador who had been deported three times previously. This person was apprehended on February 24 for charges related to continuous sexual assault of a minor. Another notable arrest included a 61-year-old Mexican national who had also been deported three times before; he was detained on February 26 after previous convictions for aggravated sexual assault of a minor among other offenses.

Other arrests included individuals from Cuba, Vietnam, Mexico, and the Philippines. Their previous convictions ranged from aggravated sexual assault to kidnapping and indecency with minors.

For more information about ICE's efforts to combat child exploitation in Houston-area communities follow them on X at @HSIHouston.