(Texas Scorecard) – Over the last six months, 214 illegal aliens who have committed sex offenses against children were arrested by federal agents in the Harris County area. This number exceeds the 211 similar arrests made during the entire 2024 fiscal year by the agency’s Houston field office, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
These arrests are the result of coordinated enforcement operations led by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston and supported by multi-agency teams including the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Marshals Service, and state and local law enforcement.
This latest operation builds on a series of major sweeps in recent months.
In March 2025, ICE arrested 646 illegal aliens in Houston, including seven known gang members and 34 charged with or convicted of sex crimes, many involving minors.
In May, a targeted sweep resulted in 422 arrests, including individuals suspected of murder and arson, with more than 260 of those having prior criminal convictions.
In June, ICE operations led to 1,361 arrests in the Houston area, including:
32 convicted child sex offenders
9 individuals with homicide convictions
16 known gang or cartel affiliates
One individual previously convicted of airplane hijacking
Also in June, 142 criminal aliens were deported from Houston to Mexico, including 11 child predators and eight gang members.
Among those apprehended in the past six months are:
Jesus Gutierrez Mireles, 67, from Mexico—convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and DWI; deported April 4 after three prior removals
Jorge Zebra, 48, from Mexico—convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a minor and sexual indecency; deported March 24
Manuel Antonio Castro-Juarez, 37, from El Salvador—convicted of sexual assault of a minor and previously deported twice; pending third removal
Jose Guadalupe Meza, 40, from Mexico—convicted of theft and sexual assault of a child
Sergio Rolando Galvan Guerrero, 45, from Mexico—convicted of DWI and aggravated sexual assault of a child
These enforcement actions occur amid growing budget concerns in Harris County, where 12 percent of the county jail population currently consists of inmates held under ICE detainers.
The county has spent $1.1 million in FY2025 on legal services for illegal aliens in deportation proceedings, including those with criminal records.
Paul McBride, acting field office director for ICE ERO Houston, stated: “Bringing together the resources and expertise of the entire federal law enforcement community to confront the overwhelming surge of illegal immigration that we saw over the past four years has resulted in the arrest and removal of historic numbers of violent criminal aliens, transnational gang members, and child sex offenders.”