Houston ICE Arrests 3,593 Criminal Noncitizens in Six-Week Operation During Shutdown

Houston ICE operation arrests 3,593 criminal noncitizens in six-week sweep

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Houston arrested 3,593 individuals alleged to be in the United States without authorization during a six-week enforcement operation that ran from Oct. 1 through Nov. 12. The agency characterized the effort as one of its largest recent enforcement actions in Southeast Texas and said it was carried out while many ICE employees worked without pay during the federal government shutdown.

ICE officials said the sweep targeted individuals with criminal records and resulted in the apprehension of 67 registered sex offenders, 51 child predators, 13 persons charged with murder, 10 fugitives, and 23 gang members. Officials reported that members of MS-13 and the Paisas gang were among those detained.

"Our entire team understands how critical ICE’s mission is to public safety and national security, and despite many of them going without pay, they continued to show up every day and give everything they had to protect this community from dangerous criminal illegal alien gang members, child predators, murderers and rapists," said ERO Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford.

ICE said the arrests also included hundreds of people with convictions or pending charges for driving while intoxicated (DWI), aggravated assault, weapons offenses and burglary. Other alleged offenses listed by the agency included aggravated kidnapping, drug-related crimes, human trafficking, making terroristic threats, prostitution, bribery and illegal reentry.

Notable arrests highlighted by ICE

ICE named several individuals taken into custody during the operation:

• Brayan Josue Pineda-Ayala, a 23-year-old alleged MS-13 member from Honduras, was arrested Oct. 7. ICE says he was released into the U.S. in May 2024 and has been linked to an alleged triple homicide in Dallas County.
• Froilan Mejia Olvera, a 44-year-old twice-removed deportee and convicted rapist from Mexico, was arrested Oct. 23. ICE stated agents had previously encountered him in 2023 but could not detain him at that time; he was later convicted for a subsequent rape and assault.
• Baldomero Perez-Quezada, a 56-year-old child predator from Mexico who had been deported multiple times, was deported again on Oct. 31.
• Marco Dubon-Ayala, a 51-year-old Mexican national convicted of sexual indecency with a child, and Juan Jose Moreno-Renteria, a 40-year-old with multiple illegal entries and child predator allegations, were also detained.

ICE additionally reported apprehending 10 fugitives wanted for serious crimes in the U.S. and abroad, including Octavio Cruz-Garcia, a five-time removed noncitizen wanted for homicide in Harris County, Texas. Two Honduran brothers — Elder Antonio Cruz-Hernandez and Yony Roberto Cruz-Hernandez — remain in ICE custody pending repatriation to Honduras, where authorities say they are wanted for homicide.

The agency said the operation aimed to remove violent offenders from local communities and ensure those wanted for serious crimes face justice in the U.S. or are returned to their countries of origin to face charges there.