Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials apprehended more than 1,000 illegal aliens under the Laken Riley Act during its two-week Operation Angel’s Honor. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the news on social media, noting that the operation was meant to honor slain Laken Riley.
“In honor of Laken Riley, @ICEgov launched Operation Angel’s Honor— in the last 2 weeks alone arresting more than 1,000 criminal illegal aliens under the authority of the Laken Riley Act. President Trump has empowered us to arrest and remove the millions of violent criminal illegal aliens unleashed on the United States by the previous administration,” Noem wrote.
“Now these criminals will face justice and be removed from our country. We can never bring Laken back, but we can do everything in our power to bring these heinous criminals to justice,” she added. “I am so proud of our brave men and women of ICE have done to remove criminals from America’s streets.”
What is Operation Angel’s Honor?
The operation, which concluded on Monday, December 22, was conducted in memory of Riley, a nursing student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant last year. Some of the illegal immigrants nabbed by ICE under Operation Angel’s Honor were accused of heinous crimes, including rape, assault with intent to cause injury to an officer, indecent liberties with a child, and more, according to the New York Post.
{{/usCountry}}The operation, which concluded on Monday, December 22, was conducted in memory of Riley, a nursing student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant last year. Some of the illegal immigrants nabbed by ICE under Operation Angel’s Honor were accused of heinous crimes, including rape, assault with intent to cause injury to an officer, indecent liberties with a child, and more, according to the New York Post.
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“This operation, while a massive success, also serves as a solemn reminder of the profound impact that immigrant violence and crime can have on victims and their loved ones,” ICE Director Todd Lyons said, per the outlet. “ICE’s mission is to ensure that no more Americans will fall victim to illegal alien crime.”
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The Laken Riley Act was passed by the Senate hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. The act was named after Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was brutally murdered by 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant. She was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia’s campus in Athens in February 2024.
Who were arrested during the operation?
Here is a list of some of the “worst of the worst criminal aliens” ICE arrested during the operation, according to the Department of Homeland Security:
- Alejandro Ojose-Asto: A 37-year-old whose sheet that includes rape, criminal obstruction of breathing/circulation, assault with intent to cause physical injury, and more.
- Carlos Gomez-Diaz: The 27-year-old, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was previously convicted of sexual exploitation of a child.
- Jose Jimenez-Munoz: Another illegal alien from Mexico, he was arrested for being armed with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, an assault on a female, an assault with a deadly weapon-minor present, domestic violence, and more.
- Fernando Manzanares-Cruz: The 40-year-old, who was ordered removed in 2016, was arrested in the past for assault and battery on a pregnant victim, witness intimidation, destruction of property, and assault and battery of a family/household member.
- Jamie Escobar-Mirales: The 37-year-old from Mexico was arrested in the past or two counts of rape of a child.
- Javier Diaz-Cabrera: He has a rap sheet that includes illegal sexual contact with a victim under the age of 13, sexual assault with a victim under 18 by a guardian, and a conviction for evading responsibility for a physical injury.
- Braulio Rosas-Ayala: He has a history of rape and sodomy, and had been ordered removed in 1999.
- Brandon Barrientos-Garcia: The 28-year-old from Guatemala rap sheet includes assault by strangulation, burglary, breaking/entering to terrorize/injure, and domestic assault.