(The Center Square) – Of the top 100 convicted criminals arrested during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, 15 were arrested in or committed crimes in Texas, the most of any state.
The next greatest numbers were arrested by ICE agents in New York and California despite state opposition, according to an analysis of the data by The Center Square.
The White House on Monday posted mugshots of 100 convicted criminals who are all in the country illegally and deported by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. Thousands have been arrested and deported under Trump’s mass deportation plan, but the administration erected posters of “the worst of the worst criminal illegal immigrants arrested” on the White House lawn “for the world to see – highlighting the Trump Administration’s unprecedented effort to secure our homeland and send these vicious criminals back where they belong,” the White House said.
The top 100 represent the types of violent criminals being arrested nationwide – those convicted of violent crimes of murder, homicide, rape, aggravated battery, multiple types of sexual assault and abuse of a minor, kidnapping, multiple sex offenses, assault with a firearm, fentanyl distribution, child pornography, drug possession, among others.
The most arrested were connected to Texas. They were arrested by ICE agents in Texas, convicted for committing crimes in Texas or in other states, or they were arrested by federal agents in other states after committing crimes in Texas.
Top of the list was Mexican national Apolinar Islas Hernandez, arrested by ICE El Paso agents, convicted of murder and aggravated battery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Next was Indian national Raju Varugheses Vayechaparampil, arrested by ICE Houston agents and convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in Harris County, Texas.
The greatest number of arrests on the list from Texas were made by ICE Houston agents (6), followed by those made by ICE Dallas agents (5).
ICE Houston agents arrested Honduran national Eduardo Garcia-Cortez, convicted of murder in Los Angeles County, Calif.; Guatemalan national Che Xol Norberto, convicted of indecency with child sexual contact in Harris County; Mexican national Roberto Fernandez Gomez, convicted of murder in Travis County. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and had a removal order from 2007.
ICE Houston agents also arrested Cuban national Osvaldo Diaz, a registered sex offender, convicted of trespassing and sexual assault/battery of a child in Florida, with a removal order from 2007. They also arrested Mexican national Rogelio Hernandez, convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
ICE Dallas arrested Mexican national Carols Ambriz Estrada, convicted of deliberate homicide in Helena, Montana; Mexican national Miguel Angel Lopez-Hernandez, convicted of assault-person with semi-automatic firearm and sexual penetration with an object with force in Riverside, Calif.; Burmese national Tay Myint, convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in Cactus, Texas. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and had a removal order from 2019.
ICE Dallas agents also arrested Mexican national Bernave Pineda Bustamante, convicted of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 10 years in prison; and Nicaraguan national Cesar Augusto Delgado-Sanchez, convicted of sexual assault/strong arm and lewd lascivious acts with a minor and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Also on the top 100 list were those arrested in Austin, Denver and Calexico, Calif., after being convicted of crimes in Texas.
In Austin, ICE agents arrested Mexican national Humberto Ruiz-Zapata, convicted of Driving While Intoxicated and murder; he had a removal order from 2017.
In Denver, ICE agents arrested Mexican national Juan Nieves, convicted of sexual assault, sex offenses against a child, obstructing police and Driving Under the Influence of alcohol in Houston County, Texas.
In Calexico, ICE agents arrested Salvadoran national Jose Douglas Pineda-Argueta, convicted of indecency with a child in Harris County. He had a removal order from 2015.
Some of the most egregious convictions listed include crimes committed against children. U.S. House Democrats voted against deporting such offenders last fall.
In order to assist federal deportation efforts, Trump issued executive orders on Monday targeting sanctuary jurisdictions and providing support to local police, and his National Counterterrorism Center identified 1,200 alleged terrorists illegally in the U.S.
At a press briefing on Monday, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Trump’s border policies were “making America safe again,” The Center Square reported.
In Trump’s first 100 days, illegal immigration is down 96%, with the U.S. having “the most secure border in the history of this nation,” Homan said. Referring to reduced illegal crossings as a metric of border security, he said, “the numbers prove Trump’s policies are saving lives every day.”
