ICE Arrests 131 Suspected Gang Members in One Week, DHS Says
DHS says agents arrested 131 gang-affiliated people between Oct. 4 and 10, including 22 tied to MS-13 and 13 tied to Tren de Aragua.
One week, 131 arrests. That is what the Department of Homeland Security says Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents accomplished against suspected gang members in the country illegally.
DHS told Fox News Digital exclusively that agents arrested 131 gang-affiliated people between Oct. 4 and Oct. 10. Of those, 22 were affiliated with MS-13 and 13 with Tren de Aragua. DHS also said ICE has made 12,018 gang-related arrests since President Trump took office again in 2025.
"In less than a week, the brave patriots of ICE have arrested more than 100 gang members across the country, including members of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. He added that arresting and deporting people in the country illegally, "especially gang members, is how we make America safe again."
DHS highlighted several individual cases, and the descriptions below are the department's, not independently verified findings:
Gustavo Adolfo Flores-Ramirez, a Salvadoran national DHS says is an MS-13 member, was arrested in Las Vegas on Wednesday. DHS says he is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide, aggravated femicide and rape of a minor or incapacitated person, among other charges. Fox reports it is not known when he first entered the country illegally, but he was arrested in the U.S. in September 2021 and deported to Mexico.
Jose Luis Perez-Arrias, a Venezuelan national and Tren de Aragua member according to DHS, was arrested in Tallahassee, Florida, on Wednesday. DHS says he entered illegally in October 2023 under the Biden administration, was arrested by Border Patrol and was released into the country.
Emerson Jossiel Calderon-Hernandez, a Salvadoran national and suspected MS-13 member, was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. DHS says he entered illegally in August 2012 and was released. He has been arrested for charges including second-degree assault and attempted first-degree murder, Fox reports.
DHS also said a 14-year-old from Venezuela, associated with a faction of Tren de Aragua, was arrested in Denver on Tuesday. The department says he faces a first-degree murder attempt charge and was carrying a Glock 48 pistol at the time. As with all arrests, these are allegations, and charges are not convictions.
The pattern the DHS release stresses is the one conservatives have warned about for years: people with serious criminal records who were encountered at the border, released, and later arrested again. Whatever one thinks about the broader debate, removing violent offenders is the least controversial part of immigration enforcement, and a week like this is the reason voters keep rating border and crime issues so highly.