U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of 214 illegal immigrants in the Houston area over the past six months who were either charged with or convicted of child sex crimes, a figure that already surpasses the total number of similar arrests made in all of 2024.
The surge in arrests comes amid a renewed enforcement effort under President Donald Trump, who made mass deportations of violent offenders a key pillar of his “Make America Safe Again” agenda.
Repeat Offenders and Deportees Among the Arrested
ICE provided several examples of the types of individuals targeted in the crackdown:
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Jesus Gutierrez Mireles, 67, of Mexico, was deported April 4 after convictions for aggravated sexual assault of a child and DWI.
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Jorge Zebra, 48, of Mexico, was deported March 24 after being convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a minor.
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Manuel Antonio Castro-Juarez, 37, of El Salvador, is in custody pending deportation with prior convictions for sexual assault of a minor and illegal reentry.
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Jose Guadalupe Meza, 40, of Mexico, was deported June 25 after convictions for theft and sexual assault of a child.
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Sergio Rolando Galvan Guerrero, 45, of Mexico, was deported for the third time on July 14 following a conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child.
ICE: “Historic Numbers” of Criminal Alien Arrests
Paul McBride, Acting Field Office Director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Houston, credited the increased arrests to enhanced cooperation and federal focus under the Trump administration.
“Bringing together the resources and expertise of the entire federal law enforcement community… has resulted in the arrest and removal of historic numbers of violent criminal aliens, transnational gang members and child sex offenders,” McBride said.
“The strides we have made in just six months to make our local communities safer are substantial,” he added. “Our officers continue to work tirelessly every day to get the worst of the worst criminal aliens out of Southeast Texas.”
