U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Thursday that it arrested 38 illegal immigrants with various criminal offenses or pending charges during an operation conducted between April 15 and April 26.

The offenses committed by those apprehended in the operation range from child sexual abuse to rape.

Those arrested include:

A 36-year-old citizen of Honduras in Lindenwold who was convicted of felony rape, false imprisonment, sex offense, and perverted practice and was previously removed from the United States in 2017.

A 39-year-old citizen of Mexico arrested in Bridgeton who was convicted of engaging in prostitution and twice convicted of driving under the influence and was previously removed from the United States in 2012.

A 26-year-old citizen of Chile arrested in Jersey City who was convicted of felony burglary-forced entry-residence.

A 46-year-old citizen of Colombia arrested in Morristown who was charged with money laundering, promoting gambling and conspiracy/promoting gambling.

A 27-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic arrested in Pennsauken who was convicted of felony endangering-sexual conduct with a child by non-caretaker. 

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers made the arrests in Newark, New Jersey. ERO Field Office Director John Tsoukaris said illegal immigrants “should know that we will use the full force of our immigration authority to bring them to justice” and explained that the individuals the agency apprehended “were placed in ERO custody and processed for removal proceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

The press release also highlights the number of arrests ERO has made.

In fiscal year 2023, ERO arrested 73,822 noncitizens with criminal histories; this group had 290,178 associated charges and convictions with an average of four per individual. These included 33,209 assaults; 4,390 sex and sexual assaults; 7,520 weapons offenses; 1,713 charges or convictions for homicide; and 1,655 kidnapping offenses.

This development highlights one of the more glaring and disturbing problems created by the ongoing border crisis. People who have committed serious crimes are eluding the authorities and residing illegally in the United States. Many have committed heinous sexual crimes against minors.

In Michigan, for example, Miguel Hernandez-Ruiz, a Mexican national who overstayed his visa, allegedly broke into a home and raped two girls under the age of 13.

In January, a Honduran national was set free in Virginia after being charged with sexually abusing a child. The local authorities refused to notify ICE that he was being released.

Authorities in Fairfax County, Virginia, not only ignored a detainer request from ICE, but they didn’t even notify them that the suspect had been released:

ICE issued a press release (emphasis mine):

“Fairfax County refused to honor the ICE detainer lodged against this Honduran noncitizen,” said acting Deputy Field Office Director Erik Weiss. “When ICE detainers are ignored by local authorities, the public is put at risk; unfortunately, this time the result was the unnecessary injury of a federal law enforcement officer while prosecuting the arrest of a noncitizen charged with sexually abusing a Virginia minor and producing child sexual abuse material. ERO Washington remains dedicated to protecting the residents of our communities against threats posed by unlawfully present noncitizens.”

“The Honduran noncitizen unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location without being inspected, admitted or paroled by an immigration official,” the statement added.

These are only a few examples highlighting the problem of violent criminals being allowed to roam free in the United States. Since the Biden administration has failed to properly address the problem, Americans, especially children, have been placed in danger. It seems no amount of children being abused will be enough to push the administration to do the right thing and protect the American people.