ICE arrests 214 illegal immigrants for child sex crimes in Houston metro area

The uptick stems from a broader enforcement from the Trump administration after the president came into office pledging to conduct mass deportations with the “worst of the worst” as a priority.

Among those arrested by ICE in the last 6 months who have been charged or convicted with child sex crimes is Jesus Gutierrez Mireles, 67, from Mexico, who was deported April 4 after convictions for aggravated sexual assault of a child and DWI, according to a press release from ICE.

Another arrested was Jorge Zebra, 48, also from Mexico, who was deported March 24 after convictions including aggravated sexual assault of a minor.

Manuel Antonio Castro-Juarez, 37, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, is in custody pending deportation and was part of the 214 arrests. He has prior convictions for sexual assault of a minor and illegal reentry.

Additionally, Jose Guadalupe Meza, 40, from Mexico, was deported June 25 following convictions for theft and sexual assault of a child. Also included in the 214 is Sergio Rolando Galvan Guerrero, 45, from Mexico, who was deported for the third time on July 14. He was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

"Bringing together the resources and expertise of the entire federal law enforcement community to confront the overwhelming surge of illegal immigration that we saw over the past four years has resulted in the arrest and removal of historic numbers of violent criminal aliens, transnational gang members and child sex offenders,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston acting Field Office Director Paul McBride.

“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, and our officers continue to work tirelessly every day to get the worst of the worst criminal aliens out of Southeast Texas to return our communities to places we can all enjoy,” McBride added.