Federal immigration authorities in Houston have arrested more than 200 illegal immigrants with serious criminal backgrounds over the past six months — a total that surpasses all such arrests in Fiscal Year 2024.
According to a press release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 214 individuals in the country illegally — all charged with or convicted of child sex offenses — have been detained as part of an aggressive enforcement operation across Southeast Texas.
Among those highlighted in ICE’s Monday report were five men with histories of disturbing crimes involving minors. Four were from Mexico and have since been deported. The fifth, from El Salvador, remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
One of the most egregious offenders, 48-year-old Jorge Zebra of Mexico, had been convicted of two counts of sexual assault of a minor and one count of “sexual indecency” with a minor. He was deported in March. Others — including Sergio Rolando Galvan Guerrero and Jesus Gutierrez Mireles — were also found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child and other crimes such as driving while intoxicated.
Another Mexican national, Jose Guadalupe Meza, had previously been deported four times. His criminal record includes sexual assault of a child and theft. He was removed again on June 25.
The sole individual from El Salvador, Manuel Antonio Castro-Juarez, was convicted of sexually assaulting a child and has illegally entered the U.S. multiple times. ICE says he will be deported again after his case is processed.
ICE officials say this wave of arrests reflects a larger federal effort to crack down on illegal immigration and remove individuals who pose the greatest threat to public safety.
“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,” said Paul McBride, acting director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Houston.
McBride credited the improvement to a “whole-of-government” strategy — one first emphasized under former President Donald Trump — in which teams focus on targeted enforcement in high-risk areas.
“While we still have a long way to go to truly get this crisis under control, the strides we have made in just six months to make our local communities safer are substantial,” McBride said. “Our officers continue to work tirelessly every day to get the worst of the worst criminal aliens out of Southeast Texas.”
ICE’s online database of the “worst of the worst” recently added another name: Ruben Torres Palomares, who was captured on July 25 by Houston officers and is facing charges of child sex crimes.
