A massive law enforcement operation in a subdivision in Plum Grove, Texas, resulted in the arrest of nearly 120 illegal aliens, including an alleged MS-13 member accused of murder who had been removed from the U.S. six times before getting arrested again this week.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Homeland Security and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office executed the operation that resulted in the arrest of 118 alleged illegal immigrants Monday, including 34-year-old Luis Miguel Perez-Miranda of El Salvador.
Perez-Miranda was wanted after he allegedly murdered a Houston-area man in the Colony Ridge neighborhood, sparking a manhunt by authorities in Dayton, Texas. He was ultimately caught and taken to the Liberty County Jail.
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“Despite attempts by some to spread false information and rumors about the brave men and women who work for ICE, they continue to come in to work every day and put their own lives at risk to make our communities safer,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford said.
“Without their incredible sacrifice and commitment to execute their mission at the highest level, this dangerous MS-13 gang member who allegedly butchered an innocent man earlier in the day would still be at large in the community, posing a potential threat to every Houstonian he encountered.”
ICE said Perez-Miranda illegally entered the U.S. at least seven times and was expelled from the country in August 2021. ICE noted he was removed to El Salvador in September 2009, August 2014, July 2016, March 2019 and March 2023.
His prior convictions include drug trafficking, drug possession and illegal entry into the U.S.
Early Monday morning, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that state authorities working with the Department of Homeland Security were conducting an immigration and law enforcement operation in Colony Ridge, a huge development known for attracting illegal immigrants.
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“Colony Ridge is being targeted today,” Abbott, a Republican, announced on X Monday.
Colony Ridge, less than an hour’s drive from Texas’ biggest city, Houston, is a housing development that advertises in Spanish for quality land for low down payments. There are believed to be thousands of illegal immigrants living in the community, which also reportedly has significant cartel activity and little police presence.
Border czar Tom Homan told Fox News the operation was part of a larger criminal investigation into a network, and a lot of the people of interest were located in the Colony Ridge area.
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Homan said some of the illegal migrants arrested had warrants and were arrested at worksites, while others were picked up during traffic stops conducted by DPS.
“It wasn’t a community being targeted,” Homan said. “We have specific targets we are looking for. We know exactly what we are looking for and the crimes they had committed during this operation.”
According to Homan, their priority is criminal illegal migrants and national security threats. However, he has made it clear that anyone in the country illegally is also at risk of deportation.
ICE confirmed the charges and convictions of those arrested include criminal sexual conduct, homicide, theft, negligent manslaughter, child sexual abuse, crimes of moral turpitude, weapons offenses and drug offenses.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
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