A new roundup conducted by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, has netted several serious criminals hailing from El Salvador, Haiti, and Mexico. A press release from the Department of Homeland Security published on Monday, August 3rd, announced the arrest of several members of high-profile gangs such as MS-13 and the 18th Street Gang.
Those recently apprehended by ICE with the help of state and local law enforcement include Josue Isaias Cruz Ruiz, a native of El Salvador and an alleged member of the 18th Street Gang with a prior conviction for homicide; Ermis Francisco Orellana Rivas, another native of El Salvador and an alleged member of MS-13 with prior convictions for sodomy, burglary, and strongarm sexual assault; Pablo Othoniel Lopez Sarricolea, a citizen of Mexico and alleged member of the Paisas gang with multiple convictions for assault, resisting an officer, driving under the influence, and illegal re-entry of the United States. Two other men—Erick Palacious Martinez of El Salvador and Nicolas Guzman Hernandez of Mexico—were also highlighted in the press release. Martinez, a suspected member of La Mirada Locos, has prior convictions for robbery, damage to property, drug possession, and possession of an illegal weapon. A similar story concerns Hernandez, an alleged member of the Surenos gang, who has a prior arrest for felony assault.
On Tuesday, August 4th, the Department of Homeland Security issued a second press release stating that an illegal immigrant from Haiti, Moise Sainteran, had been charged with two counts of rape and forcible sexual abuse, plus other charges of object rape, aggravated sexual assault, and forcible sodomy, connected to two cases that occurred in Salt Lake City last month. Sainteran first entered the United States and received parole from the Biden administration in September 2023 under the auspices of the Haitian Humanitarian Parole program. Sainteran then received authorization to work in the United States three months later. Sainteran’s continued residence in the U.S. became illegal once the Trump administration terminated the Haiti parole program on April 24, 2025.
Despite frequent criticisms lodged by members of the “online right,” the Trump administration and ICE have successfully carried out over 350,000 deportations in fiscal year 2026 alone. Similarly, total nationwide encounters reported by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are at historic lows, following the January 2025 peak of 370,883. And while these numbers may not appease immigration restrictionists, they are a definitive step in the right direction. Increasingly tough-on-crime measures at the border and beyond have successfully resulted in a historic drop in reported crime rates. In just one year alone, homicides have declined by 18 percent, carjackings are down 47 percent, and robberies are down 17 percent.
