Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 37-year-old Dennis Alexander Valenzuela last week in Fort Worth. Valenzuela, a Guatemalan national, had been living illegally in Texas and was wanted for murder back in his home country of Guatemala.
ICE officials confirmed that Valenzuela entered the country illegally near Hidalgo, Texas, in June of 2021, per a news release published on Wednesday. The man had not been admitted or paroled by any immigration officer on record.
“Our officers pursue criminal aliens who attempt to hide in the shadows of our communities daily,” said ICE Dallas Field Office Director Joshua Johnson.
“The apprehension and pending removal of this individual underscores our dedication to upholding the laws of our country and safeguarding our communities,” he added.
Valenzuela, who has been linked to a murder charge back in Guatemala, will remain in custody at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, while awaiting criminal proceedings.
The arrest comes just a week after the media obtained internal ICE documents indicating that the Dallas office is one of several instructed to aim for 75 daily arrests, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The increased arrests in the Dallas area are part of a national initiative to boost ICE’s daily detentions of illegal aliens, with a target of 1,200 to 1,500 arrests daily. This number surpasses the Biden administration’s average of 311 daily arrests and puts ICE on track to exceed its highest daily arrest rate from the Obama era, which was 636 per day in 2013.
However, the White House has recently denied any claims of arrest “quotas,” with a spokesperson explaining that these are “goals,” not mandatory minimums.
The recent rise in ICE arrests coincides with record-high illegal alien numbers in 2024, as previously covered by DX. As of 2023, the Pew Research Center reports that America has hit a record high of 47.3 million foreign-born residents, making up 14.3% of the total population.