In the wake of escalating unrest in Los Angeles, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released detailed information regarding several individuals taken into custody during a recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation. The arrests, which targeted undocumented migrants with serious and violent criminal records, sparked protestors enraged the justice has seemingly come to those violent criminals.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reports on the DHS memo: Among those apprehended was Cuong Chan Phan, a 49-year-old Vietnamese national, who had previously been convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, according to ICE. Another detainee, Rolando Veneracion-Enriquez, a 55-year-old man from the Philippines, had prior convictions for burglary, sexual penetration with a foreign object using force, and assault with intent to commit rape.
ICE also reported the arrest of Lionel Sanchez-Laguna, a 55-year-old Mexican national with a lengthy criminal history, including convictions for willful cruelty to a child, DUI, and assault with a semi-automatic firearm. Armando Ordaz, 44, also a Mexican national, had been convicted of sexual battery, receiving stolen property, and petty theft.
The Biden administration’s immigration policies have come under renewed scrutiny, as the Trump administration issued sharp criticism of California officials for not working more closely with federal agencies. “Why do Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass care more about violent murderers and sex offenders than they do about protecting their own citizens?” asked Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a formal statement. “These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets.”
McLaughlin added, “Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer.”
Several other non-citizens with serious offenses were removed from Los Angeles communities during the enforcement action. ICE identified Jordan Mauricio Meza-Esquibel, a 32-year-old Honduran national with arrests for domestic violence and drug distribution, and Jesus Alan Hernandez-Morales, 26, a Mexican national convicted of transporting an illegal migrant. Another individual, Jose Cristobal Hernandez-Buitron from Peru, had a prior robbery conviction.
Despite ICE’s targeted focus on individuals with significant criminal backgrounds, demonstrations against the agency flared up across Los Angeles earlier this month. The protests, held in a city that has officially limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities, quickly turned violent. According to ICE, over 1,000 demonstrators surrounded a federal building on Friday night, damaging property, attacking ICE agents, slashing vehicle tires, and vandalizing federal facilities. The agency stated that it took the Los Angeles Police Department more than two hours to respond to the chaos, according to the Daily Caller.