U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Houston arrested 414 illegal aliens charged or convicted for child sex offenses during President Donald Trump’s first year back in office, nearly double the 211 arrests made during the final year of Joe Biden’s administration.
ICE announced the figures Tuesday in a press release that also detailed the scope of the crimes involved. The 414 arrested aliens collectively faced 761 child sex offense charges and 525 other criminal charges including homicide and robbery.
“While elected officials and media pundits across the country were zealously trying to manipulate the American public with fake news stories about ICE’s public safety mission, the brave men and women of ICE were quietly going about their business to arrest and remove more than 400 dangerous child predators from our local communities,” said ICE ERO Houston Acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez.
“Thanks to their tireless efforts, parents across Southeast Texas can sleep a little better tonight knowing that these pedophiles and child rapists are no longer a threat to their children,” Martinez added.
Among those arrested was Juan Leonardo Garcia Ibarra, a 48-year-old from Mexico who had illegally reentered the United States 12 times before ICE picked him up on April 4, 2025. He was convicted of sexual indecency with a child, aggravated assault, cruelty toward a child, driving while intoxicated, and felony illegal reentry. ICE deported him to Mexico on April 7, 2025.
A second individual, Andrew Mark Watson of the United Kingdom, was arrested by ICE on December 5, 2025. Watson had been convicted of two counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and sexually exploiting a minor. He remains in ICE custody at the IAH Secure Adult Detention Facility in Livingston, Texas, pending immigration proceedings.
A third case involved Alex Samuel Lara Diaz, a 35-year-old from Honduras who had been previously deported before being arrested again by ICE on October 29, 2025. Lara Diaz carried a conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a minor and was wanted in Honduras on homicide charges. ICE deported him on December 13, 2025, turning him over directly to Honduran authorities for prosecution.
A July raid in Houston led to the arrest of 214 individuals accused or convicted of child sex offenses.
