U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of multiple individuals convicted of serious crimes this week, a move officials presented as protecting victims. These cases, however, represent a small fraction of the millions of migrant encounters recorded by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in recent years.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated the arrests targeted individuals with prior convictions for offenses including aggravated sexual assault, lewd acts with a child, assault by strangulation, and distribution of methamphetamine.
Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis asserted that DHS is "continuing its work to fight for justice for victims of illegal alien crime" during National Crime Victims Week.
Bis added that "By removing criminal illegal aliens from our communities, ICE is stopping them before they can perpetrate more crimes and create more victims."
Officials highlighted specific arrests from the week. One man, Carlos Portillo-Nunez of El Salvador, was previously convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child in Indio, California, according to DHS.
Pablo Blanco-Fortuna, identified as an illegal alien from Mexico, was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and failing to register as a sex offender in Hidalgo, Texas.
Roberto Vallejo-Benitez, also from Mexico, was convicted of assault by strangulation in Wake County, North Carolina, officials said.
Guatemalan national Eladio Laines was previously convicted of sexual assault and unlawful restraint involving serious bodily injury in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Alfredo Delgado-Perez, another Mexican national, was convicted of distributing methamphetamine in Los Angeles.
The State's Border Regime
These enforcement actions follow a period of historically high levels of migration, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection recording over 2 million migrant encounters along the southern border in both fiscal years 2022 and 2023, before a decline in 2024.
The individuals arrested are from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador, nations that have consistently accounted for a significant share of border crossings, according to DHS encounter data. These countries are often sources of labor migration driven by economic conditions.
ICE has stated it prioritizes the arrest and removal of "illegal aliens" with prior criminal convictions, particularly those involving violence, sexual offenses, and drug trafficking.
Criminalizing Migration
Despite DHS highlighting arrests involving serious criminal offenses, the agency's own CBP data indicates such cases constitute a small portion of the millions of "illegal alien" encounters recorded nationwide in recent years. This selective focus serves to criminalize the broader migrant population, diverting attention from the systemic drivers of migration.
The federal agency stated these arrests are part of its wider efforts to remove individuals with criminal convictions from U.S. communities. It also pointed victims to its Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office for support services.
Acting Assistant Secretary Bis concluded by stating, "Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will never stop fighting for justice for the innocent Americans whose lives were stolen by illegal aliens who should have never been in our country." This rhetoric reinforces the state's narrative of migrant criminality, justifying the expansion of its enforcement apparatus.