ICE arrested 118 illegal immigrants in a series of sweeps targeting central California, with the “worst of the worst” including convicted offenders with disturbing criminal histories, federal officials said.
The six-day operation between Christmas and New Year’s saw federal agents cuff pedophiles, sex offenders, burglars, and domestic abusers, including a man convicted of lewd acts with a child under 14, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday.
US Border Patrol agents staged a show of force outside the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the “surge operation” to close out 2025 targeted “the worst of the worst criminals in the country illegally,” while criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom and local sanctuary city policies.
“Criminal illegal aliens flock to California because they know Governor Newsom and his fellow sanctuary politicians will allow them to terrorize innocent American families,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “In 2026, our law enforcement will continue to do what Gavin Newsom refused to do: make California safe again.”
DHS highlighted that agents took into custody Mexican citizen Juan Perez Tello, 42, who was previously convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and is a registered sex offender.
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Another Mexican national had four DUI convictions, including one for a DUI causing bodily injury, according to the Trump administration.
Other names released by DHS included illegal immigrants with rap sheets featuring charges such as false imprisonment, causing injury to a child, assault with a deadly weapon, and alien smuggling.
More than 10,000 illegal immigrants — including suspected murderers, kidnappers, sexual predators, and carjackers — have been arrested in Los Angeles since the Trump administration launched operations in June, according to DHS.
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The names of the 10 “worst of the worst” offenders during the LA crackdown were in the country illegally and booked on serious crimes like rape, homicide, kidnapping, and child sex offenses, the feds said.
Los Angeles, which operates as a sanctuary city under California law, has proposed measures in recent months in response to the surge in ICE sweeps — including legislation that would ban agents from wearing masks, aimed at preventing what critics call “secret police” tactics.
Newsom, who is expected to launch a 2028 presidential bid, has slammed President Trump for what he calls the militarization of the city.
“Enough is enough — [White House deputy chief of staff] Stephen Miller and Trump’s chaos campaign need to end now,” Newsom said in 2025 in reaction to local ICE operations.
“They are violating constitutional rights, terrorizing neighborhoods and businesses, and targeting people because of their skin color and the language they speak,” he added. “These heartless and cruel actions have real consequences for our economy and society.”
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