Immigration and Customs Enforcement has taken more than 10,000 alleged gang members into custody since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, according to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS said the arrests include suspected members of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, as well as individuals wanted in their home countries on allegations that include murder, extortion, racketeering and drug trafficking.
The agency also pointed to a sharp drop in releases at the southwest border. Border Patrol has gone 13 consecutive months without releasing an illegal immigrant into the interior following apprehension, DHS said. In May, agents reported 9,998 apprehensions — a total the department described as 94 percent lower than the monthly average under the Biden administration. By comparison, during the December 2023 surge, Border Patrol was handling nearly that many illegal crossings in a single day.
Many of these gang members were released into our country by Joe Biden.
Under @POTUS Trump’s leadership and thanks to the Secure America Act, @ICEgov is turbocharged to arrest even more gang members and criminals from American neighborhoods. https://t.co/L8OC0Dj2hz
— Secretary Markwayne Mullin (@SecMullinDHS) June 24, 2026
DHS identified the 10,000th arrest as Javier Hernandez Rosas, an alleged MS-13 member from Mexico. Officials said his record includes a conviction for cocaine possession, along with prior arrests tied to abduction and weapons possession.
The department also cited several other cases. Josue Saul Garcia-Lopez, arrested in Virginia, is wanted in El Salvador on robbery and extortion allegations. Danny Granados-Garcia is wanted in that country in connection with the murder of a pastor. David Antonio Aviles Perez is wanted for aggravated murder and has a history of arrests in California for assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance and petty theft. DHS further said Edwin Antonio Hernandez Hernandez admitted to five murders in El Salvador before entering the United States.
DHS’s list also included one case that RedState readers may already recognize.
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Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, an alleged Tren de Aragua member, was arrested after investigators found him allegedly living on property owned by former New Mexico Judge Joel Cano. Ortega-Lopez later pleaded guilty to federal firearms and conspiracy to destroy evidence charges. Cano and his wife were separately charged with evidence tampering. The Trump administration has repeatedly cited that case as an example of the type of offender ICE is now prioritizing through interior enforcement operations.
DHS argues the decline in illegal crossings has changed how the agency can use its personnel. Instead of committing large numbers of agents to processing migrants after apprehension, the department says ICE has been able to devote additional resources to locating gang members and other criminal offenders already inside the country. Congress’s recently approved Secure America Act is expected to further expand those efforts.
DHS says nationwide drug seizures in May increased 32 percent compared with the same month last year, while fentanyl seizures rose 72 percent from April. Overall, drug seizures this fiscal year are running well ahead of last year’s pace. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott credited the administration’s broader enforcement strategy.
“This milestone, coupled with historically low illegal crossings, demonstrates our unwavering commitment to securing our nation. Our robust enforcement policies are working, and we are delivering unprecedented results in border security, drug interdiction, and trade enforcement.”
The administration has also deported nearly 900,000 illegal immigrants since Trump’s inauguration, another figure it has pointed to as enforcement continues to expand.
Democrats spent years saying this wasn’t possible. That mass releases were unavoidable. That the system couldn’t handle it. Ten thousand arrests later, the argument is over. The people ICE is pulling out of American communities were alleged murderers, cartel members, and gangbangers who got in, got released, and got left alone. They aren’t hard to find. ICE just had to be allowed to look.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left’s lies, new legislation wasn’t needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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