As ICE continues to target gang members and criminal aliens, ICE agents report they have arrested a member of Tren de Aragua in Columbus, Ohio.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the arrest came during counterterrorism operations in Columbus. ICE officials did share a few photos but did not release other details in a X post on Sunday.
ICE has stepped up enforcement efforts across the country as part of the Trump administration’s pledge to secure the border and carry out mass deportations, targeting the worst criminal offenders first.
Elsewhere, three alleged Tren de Aragua members were among 31 arrested in Louisiana ICE operations between April 14-18, according to KLFY 10 News. Tren de Aragua or TdA is a transnational criminal organization based in Venezuela.
ICE has made multiple arrests in Franklin County, Ohio, in recent months, including the arrest of a Ghanaian national convicted of sex crimes with a minor and an Ecuadorian illegal alien wanted in his home country for murder.
In response, the Common Pleas Court judges issued new rules in early March barring civil arrests without a judicial warrant within the Franklin County courthouse or on courthouse property. The Franklin County Municipal Court has continued to allow ICE officials to detain and arrest people in the building.
Last week, ICE agents also announced they arrested more than 200 alien offenders in New York, some with ties to MS-13, Tren de Aragua, Sureños and 18th Street gangs.
In addition, special agents with ICE Cincinnati arrested Jonathan Travis Mackey, a 46-year-old resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, on charges related to alleged sexual exploitation of children and receipt of child sex abuse material April 15, according to ICE.gov.
Mackey held a "position of public trust" as an employee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, but it is unclear why ICE was involved in the arrest. Investigators allege Mackey exploited victims both online and in-person and they believe there are other victims/survivors.
Last month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio announced four new immigration convictions and charges pending against an additional five defendants for allegedly violating federal immigration law, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
- Sixto Garcia-Garcia, 34, was previously indicted by a grand jury in Franklin County with three counts of rape and one count of sexual battery. He was charged federally with illegally reentering the United States. Garcia-Garcia is a citizen of Mexico and has no legal status in the United States.
- Milton Guevara-Cruz, 31, is a citizen of El Salvador who allegedly reentered the United States illegally after deportation. Charging documents filed against Guevara-Cruz detail that he is a member of the violent 18thStreet transnational gang from El Salvador.
- Roberto Carlos Mar-Herrara, 33, was indicted by a federal grand jury indicted and booked in the Franklin County Jail on felony drug trafficking charges. The Mexican national allegedly reentered the United States illegally twice following deportations.
- Jose Antonio Alvarenga, 43, is an El Salvadoran national who allegedly reentered the United States illegally after deportation. He was arrested outside of his home in New Lebanon, Ohio.
- Agents encountered Ever Amador-Medina, 37, at the Butler County Jail. He is a native of Honduras and has no legal status in the United States. He was previously deported on two occasions, once from Atlanta and once from Houston.
ICE encourages the public to report suspected gang members, child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free tip line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or by completing its online tip form.
