During the initial year of President Donald Trump’s second term, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended roughly 7,000 gang members living illegally in the U.S., including numerous individuals with serious criminal convictions like murder and assault.
In the first year of his administration, Trump’s ICE officials reported that they had removed thousands of gang members—most of whom had extensive criminal records—from American communities.
“ICE arrested 7,000 gang members in President Trump’s first year in office,” stated Tricia McLaughlin from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
When we talk about “targeting the worst offenders,” this is exactly what we refer to. Many of these individuals were allowed to enter the U.S. under the Biden administration and shouldn’t have been here. These violent criminals engaged in murder, assault, robbery, and terrorized innocent Americans. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is committed to apprehending more gang members to enhance public safety.
Among those arrested by ICE last year was Vicente Paul Carreno-Aurer, a Venezuelan gang member from Torren de Aragua. He was allowed into the U.S. by the Biden administration in 2022 and is currently facing multiple charges, including murder, assault, and child abuse.
Carreno-Aurer was deported by the Trump administration in September of the previous year.
ICE also apprehended Kevin Elenilson Avalos Diaz, a Salvadoran known to associate with the MS-13 gang. Diaz had previous convictions for murder and conspiracy, and faced additional charges of arson and armed robbery.
He first entered the U.S. in 2016, being released into the country by the Obama administration.
Nestor Fabian Londono, a Colombian illegal immigrant and affiliate of the Latin Kings gang, was also arrested. Londono has been convicted of murder and other serious offenses.
He had previously been deported in 2011 but returned to the U.S. as an undocumented individual.
Additional gang members caught by ICE during the first year of Trump’s second term included:
- Carlos Yunior Pimentel Ortiz, a Dominican immigrant with a known affiliation to the Trinitarios gang. His record includes charges of aggravated assault and drug trafficking. He was deported in 2023, but re-entered the U.S. illegally, leading to his arrest on March 21, 2025.
- Juan Antonio Jaimes Lazaro, a Mexican illegal immigrant with connections to the Mexican Mafia, previously convicted of serious crimes including murder. ICE arrested him on August 12, 2025.
- Yony Ledesma-Pedrazza, another Mexican illegal immigrant associated with the Nortenos gang, with a criminal history that includes assault and robbery. His arrest was made on January 14, 2026.
- Tan Phuc Luong, a Vietnamese illegal immigrant and member of the Asian Boys gang, found guilty of multiple offenses including assault. He was arrested by ICE on August 10, 2025.
- Cy Reus, a Cambodian illegal immigrant and Crips gang member, had prior convictions for robbery and murder, and he was arrested by ICE on March 4, 2025, before being removed on April 2, 2025.
- Raul Maceda Dominguez, a Cuban illegal immigrant and member of the Bloods gang, had multiple murder convictions and was arrested on October 27, 2025, eventually being removed from the U.S. on January 6, 2026.
In comparison, during Joe Biden’s last year in office, ICE reported the arrest of only about 4,500 illegal gang members.
