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September 8, 2025Houston, TX, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

ICE Houston arrests 822 criminal aliens, gang members, convicted murders, child predators, foreign fugitives and egregious immigration offenders during weeklong operation

HOUSTON — ICE Houston arrested 822 criminal aliens, transnational gang members, child predators, foreign fugitives and other egregious immigration offenders during a weeklong operation between Aug. 17 and Aug. 23 focused on enhancing public safety in Southeast Texas.

The operation is part of the Trump administration’s focus on restoring public safety to local communities around the country by targeting the “worst of the worst” criminal aliens and others who violate federal immigration laws.

“During the past four years, transnational gang members, foreign fugitives and other violent criminal aliens took advantage of the crisis at our southern border to illegally enter the country,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez. “Many of them remained in the Houston area and have gone on to wreak havoc in our local communities. This weeklong operation focused on targeting those threats to public safety and resulted in the successful arrests of 822 illegal aliens, including five transnational gang members, seven child predators and three criminal aliens convicted of homicide-related offenses.”

Among the criminal aliens arrested were:

Jorge Eliseo Torres-Soto, a 30-year-old criminal alien and child predator from Guatemala, arrested by ICE Aug. 22. Torres-Soto was convicted of sexual assault of a child in October 2024.
Manuel Ivan Castillo Estrada, a 36-year-old, three-time deported criminal alien and child predator from Mexico, arrested by ICE Aug. 22. Castillo was convicted of alien smuggling in November 2011 and sexually assaulting a minor in February 2024.
Francisco Eduardo Bonilla, a 37-year-old criminal alien and child predator from El Salvador, arrested by ICE Aug. 22. Bonilla was convicted of sexual indecency with a minor in Harris County in February 2025.
Lloyd Tinashe Hwehwe, a 36-year-old criminal alien and convicted murderer from Zimbabwe, arrested by ICE Aug. 22. Hwehwe was convicted of driving while intoxicated and intoxication manslaughter in 2015 and illegally reentered the U.S. after being deported. He was convicted of a second DWI in 2024.
Fuad Farah Ikhbeis, a 57-year-old criminal alien and child predator from Jordan, arrested by ICE Aug. 22. Ikhbeis was convicted of sexual indecency with a minor in 1995.
Carlos Vega-Ramirez, a 38-year-old criminal alien and twice-deported child predator from Mexico, arrested by ICE Aug. 22. Vega-Ramirez has been convicted of sexual indecency with a minor, enticement of a minor for indecent purposes, DWI, fleeing police, forgery and illegal reentry.
Hemerlindo Antonio Ascencio-Merino, a 53-year-old foreign fugitive from El Salvador, arrested by ICE Aug. 17. Ascencio-Merino is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide and illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 in an attempt to evade prosecution.
William Alexander Telles Amaya, a 35-year-old criminal alien and habitual child predator from El Salvador arrested by ICE Aug. 18. Amaya has been convicted three times for child sex offenses, including aggravated sexual assault of a child in April 2006, failure to register as a sex offender in May 2015, and sexual indecency with a minor in July 2025.
Cruz Leandro Martinez Leiva, a 25-year-old criminal alien and MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, arrested by ICE Aug. 20. Martinez has been convicted of robbery and armed carjacking in October 2018.
Alejandro Perez Miramontes, a 54-year-old 12-time deported criminal alien from Mexico, arrested by ICE Aug. 20. Perez has been convicted eight times for illegal reentry, four times for illegal entry, twice each for robbery, larceny and burglary, and once each for trespassing and evading arrest.

Three hundred and thirty of the aliens arrested during the operation have previously been ordered removed from the U.S. and approximately 112 have been deported and illegally reentered the U.S. at least once.

Numerous law enforcement agencies assisted ICE during the weeklong operation, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the DEA, the ATF, the Diplomatic Security Service, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

To learn more about ICE’s mission to combat illegal immigration in the Houston-area follow us on X at @EROHouston.

Members of the public can report crime and suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form. Follow us on X at @ICEgovERO to learn more about ERO’s missions and operations.

Updated: 09/08/2025