ICE Rings in New Year With Arrests of Criminal Immigrants Across U.S.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) didn’t take a holiday break this year, kicking off 2026 with a series of high-profile arrests targeting immigrants convicted of serious crimes, including child sexual assault, murder, and fraud.
The operations, conducted on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, resulted in the apprehension of multiple individuals from countries including Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic — all with prior criminal convictions, according to ICE records.
“ICE law enforcement secures our streets every single day including over the holiday season. They rang in the New Year with the removal of more disgusting monsters including pedophiles, murderers, and fraudsters from American neighborhoods,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.
Sexual Offense Convictions
Among those arrested was Luis Miguel Gonzalez-Castillo, a Mexican national convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in Harris County, Texas, ICE confirmed.
Authorities also apprehended Brallan Josue Garcia-Castro from Honduras, who was previously convicted in Morris County, New Jersey of sex assault where the defendant was four years older than the victim (aged between 13 and 16 years) and endangering the welfare of a child related to pornography charges.
Another arrest involved Angel Marin-Cruz, a Mexican national convicted of indecent liberties with a child in Forsyth County, North Carolina, according to agency documents.
Murder and Weapons Offenses
The New Year’s operation also targeted individuals with violent criminal histories. Jamaican national Marvin McGregor, convicted of third-degree murder, firearms possession, and recklessly endangering another person in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, was taken into custody.
Desiderio Marte Vargas from the Dominican Republic, convicted of attempted murder and unlawful possession of a weapon in Paterson, New Jersey, was also detained.
Guillermo Ibarra-Reyes, a Mexican national convicted of attempted willful premeditated murder in Los Angeles, California, rounded out the violent offenders arrested during the operation.
Fraud and Property Crimes
The agency also arrested several individuals with fraud and property crime convictions. Victor Guerrero from Honduras, convicted of fraud, trafficking in or possession of counterfeit credit cards, delivery and possession of controlled substances, and unlawful possession of personal ID in Tampa, Florida, was among those apprehended.
Karen Empaynado, a Philippine national convicted of burglary, grand theft, and battery in Deltona, Florida, was also detained.
Other arrests included Rinaldy Jesus Turcios-Flores from Honduras, convicted of grand larceny and identity fraud in Prince William, Virginia, and Cuban national Yusney Figueroa Arguelles, convicted of robbery with a firearm in Orlando, Florida, according to ICE reports.
Context and Criticism
But are these high-profile arrests representative of ICE’s overall detention practices? Data suggests a more complicated picture.
Recent figures from the Trump administration’s first nine months reveal that approximately one-third of individuals arrested by ICE have no criminal record. From January 20 to October 15, about 75,000 out of 220,000 arrests involved people with no criminal history, according to independent analysis.
Throughout 2025, ICE dramatically increased arrests at local jails, reaching an average of 350 per day in late January and over 500 a day by August. By late 2025, nearly half of the agency’s daily arrests — which sometimes exceeded 1,000 — were occurring at local detention facilities.
Only 5% of people currently detained by ICE have violent convictions, while 73% have no convictions at all, according to data from the Cato Institute. The organization also reported that ICE arrests of immigrants without convictions increased 1,500% since January 1, and by mid-November 2025, 69% of detainees had no criminal record.
As of November 30, 2025, ICE detention facilities housed 65,735 individuals, with 56,393 arrested in the U.S. interior rather than at borders. Of these detainees, 48,377 — or 73.6% — have no criminal conviction, according to data from TRAC Immigration. Texas currently holds the most ICE detainees at 17,696, TRAC found.
While ICE continues to highlight its enforcement actions against violent and dangerous offenders, these New Year’s arrests represent just a small fraction of the agency’s rapidly expanding detention operations — operations that increasingly target immigrants with no criminal history at all.
