U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 356 illegal aliens in Houston for alleged criminal gang activity, the agency announced.
According to ICE, the individuals were affiliated with more than 40 criminal gangs and had a combined total of 1,685 criminal convictions, including arson and sexual assault of children. They had collectively entered the United States illegally 1,434 times.
“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,” Gabriel Martinez, acting field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Houston, said in a statement.
“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,” Martinez said. “Our officers know their efforts can help prevent atrocities like that from ever occurring again, and they won’t rest until they’re all gone.”
ICE has made numerous arrests of illegal aliens across Texas in recent months. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, ICE officers arrested a 44-year-old Mexican national on July 31 who had previously been convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and intent to kill, according to ICE’s Dallas Enforcement and Removal Operations office.