Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) just dropped a bombshell operation, rounding up unauthorized migrants with serious criminal convictions across the nation in a single day.
The Daily Wire reported that on Thursday, ICE conducted a sweeping series of arrests targeting individuals with convictions for heinous crimes like sexual offenses against minors and vehicular homicide, while Democratic officials and lawmakers staged a dramatic protest against these actions in New York City.
The operation spanned multiple states, with ICE focusing on those who have already been convicted of significant offenses, painting a picture of an agency determined to prioritize public safety.
Among those detained was Armando Vasquez-Gonzalez, a 42-year-old unauthorized migrant from Mexico, convicted of sexual indecency with a child in Hays County, Texas, a region nestled between San Antonio and Austin.
In Trenton, New Jersey, ICE apprehended Nery Garcia-Linares, a 32-year-old from Guatemala, convicted of endangering a four-year-old through sexual conduct—a chilling reminder of the stakes involved.
Other arrests included Jefferson Caisahuana-Torres from Peru, convicted of felony injury to a child in Idaho after an initial rape charge involving a 16-year-old, as well as Edgar Benitez-Martinez from Mexico, convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in Santa Clara County, California.
ICE didn’t stop there; in King County, Washington, Souraphong Senethong from Laos was taken into custody for robbery and kidnapping convictions, rounding out a list of serious offenders.
These arrests underscore a clear message from federal authorities: those who break the law and harm communities will not find safe harbor, no matter where they hide.
Yet, while ICE was busy securing convictions, a very different scene unfolded in New York City, where Democratic officials decided to take a stand—quite literally—against the operation.
In a bold move, Democratic lawmakers attempted to storm ICE holding cells at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, leading to a tense, hour-long standoff with federal officers.
Nearly a dozen of these lawmakers were arrested, all while chanting and brandishing a banner proclaiming “NYers against ICE,” as if the issue were simply a matter of local sentiment.
Inside those very cells were individuals like an MS-13 gang member convicted of criminal possession of a weapon and DUI, alongside others with records of gun and drug trafficking—hardly the poster children for leniency.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin didn’t mince words, stating, “Yesterday, while Democrat lawmakers were obstructing law enforcement at Federal 26 Plaza, ICE law enforcement officers were arresting more pedophiles, child abusers, and kidnappers.”
Let’s unpack that: while some were busy staging protests, ICE was out there targeting individuals convicted of harming the most vulnerable—hard to argue with the priority, even if the optics of protest arrests sting for progressive sensibilities.
This clash of actions—arrests of dangerous convicts versus a public outcry from elected officials—lays bare the deep divide over immigration enforcement, a debate that’s less about facts and more about feelings for some, though the safety of communities must surely take precedence.