As riots in the City of Los Angeles erupt over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, the Trump administration is pulling back the curtain on the illegal migrants targeted by the agency.
The illegal migrants targeted by ICE raids that have sparked the ongoing riots in the city have previously been convicted or arrested for murder, child molestation, cruelty to children, drug distribution and a slate of other heinous activity, according to information released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday. The Trump administration further called out the rioters for violently demonstrating in defense of such individuals. (RELATED: ‘A Bad Day To Be An Illegal Alien’: Border Enforcement Wins Rack Up Under Trump Admin)
“These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a prepared statement. “Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers who every single day wake up and make our communities safer.”
Among those apprehended by deportation officers include Eswin Uriel Castro, a previously deported foreign national convicted of child molestation and previously arrested for robbery and domestic violence, and Anastacio Enrique Solis-Salinas, a Nicaraguan national convicted of domestic violence and a hit-and-run and previously arrested for willful cruelty to a child, according to ICE.
A protester waves Mexican flag on a vandilized Waymo self-driving car as people continue their anti-ICE demonstrations in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday June 8, 2025. Protests erupted earlier on Friday when ICE Federal agents arrested immigrants in LA’s fashion district, in a Home Depot parking lot, and several other locations. Photo by SAHAB ZARIBAF/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
The raids also nabbed Rafael Gamez-Sanchez, who was previously convicted of vehicular manslaughter. Agents also arrested Miguel Angel Palafox-Montes, who has been convicted of grand theft, identity theft and narcotics violations and arrested for battery and burglary, according to the agency.
“These heinous criminals, including child abusers and pedophiles, are some of the illegal aliens arrested yesterday in Los Angeles,” McLaughlin said. “Why do Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass care more about violent criminal illegal aliens than they do about protecting their own citizens?”
DHS on Sunday dropped a list of numerous other criminal illegal migrants apprehended in ICE raids in the city. The list included foreign nationals convicted of second degree murder, assault with intent to commit rape, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, sexual battery and an arrest for the distribution of heroin and cocaine, among other serious crimes.
The illegal migrant convicted of second degree murder — Vietnamese national Cuong Chanh Phan — opened fire at a high school graduation party in 1994 alongside his fellow gang members, killing two teenagers and wounding several others, according to DHS.
Despite the Trump administration’s focus on illegal migrants with serious criminal backgrounds, anti-ICE protests in LA — a city which has enacted official policies restricting cooperation between ICE agents and local officials — began taking over earlier in June and quickly escalated into full-scale riots. On Friday night, over 1,000 rioters surrounded a federal building, defaced government property, assaulted agents and slashed tires, according to an ICE statement.
As of Monday night, more than 40 rioters have been arrested and at least five law enforcement officers have been injured in the mayhem, according to local media. Following the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to the city, the Trump administration has since ordered the deployment of hundreds of Marines to help restore order.
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