U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 38-year-old Joel Armando Mejia-Benitez, a Salvadoran national and validated MS-13 member, in Silver Spring, Maryland on May 5. Mejia had previously been deported in 2006 but illegally reentered the United States and was wanted in El Salvador for firearms offenses.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old illegal alien whom Democrats have demanded the Trump administration return to the U.S., was previously pulled over while driving a vehicle belonging to a confessed human smuggler. The vehicle was flagged by Homeland Security Investigations as being used in a human smuggling and trafficking operation, and court records indicate Garcia is a verified MS-13 gang member and a repeat domestic violence offender.
A Maryland jury found illegal immigrant Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez guilty of first degree murder, first degree rape, third degree sexual offense and kidnapping in the death of Rachel Morin. Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five, was jogging along the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air when Martinez-Hernandez ambushed, strangled and beat her to death. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning the guilty verdict.
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, a Salvadoran national, initially denied being in Bel Air, Maryland when Rachel Morin was murdered in August 2023, but later admitted to police he was present at the scene. Prosecutors presented evidence including DNA findings, internet searches for Bel Air and Rachel on his phone, and testimony showing he eventually confessed to his whereabouts after initially providing a false identity.
Walter Javier Martinez, who was 16 at the time and had entered the country illegally from El Salvador, was sentenced to 70 years in prison for the 2022 murder and sexual assault of Kayla Hamilton. The crime occurred just four months after Martinez illegally entered the U.S., and an intercepted letter revealed he claimed responsibility for additional violent crimes.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a 23-year-old Guatemalan national in Maryland who faces murder charges in connection with his girlfriend's death. His uncle, also an undocumented immigrant, was separately charged as an accessory to the crime. Both individuals had previously been apprehended by Border Patrol in 2019 and were issued notices to appear before immigration judges.
A former Massachusetts migrant shelter director has come forward alleging a disturbing pattern of sexual assaults against children at state-run shelters, calling it a total government failure. The whistleblower directly criticizes Governor Maura Healey, pointing to cases where illegal immigrants committed serious crimes against minors in taxpayer-funded facilities despite the state's claims of conducting background checks.
The Department of Homeland Security asserted that ICE operations targeting dangerous criminals will continue uninterrupted during any government funding lapse, emphasizing the agency's focus on apprehending individuals convicted of pedophilia, murder, and human trafficking.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced enforcement actions targeting individuals with serious criminal convictions. The operation focused on apprehending foreign nationals convicted of violent crimes, drug trafficking, sexual conduct with a minor, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations arrested Dennis Costa, 66, a lawful permanent resident and registered sex offender previously convicted of child rape and abuse in Massachusetts. Costa, a Portuguese citizen who entered the U.S. in 1969, faces immigration proceedings before a judge while in ICE custody.
