ICE Sets Record With 238 Arrests in One-Day South Texas Operation

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested a record 238 illegal immigrants with prior criminal convictions in a single-day enforcement operation in South Texas on June 18. The operation by ICE's Harlingen field office set a record for targeted arrests in the Rio Grande Valley and included individuals convicted of crimes such as attempted kidnapping, sexual battery, assault, drug possession and illegal reentry. [2]

Record ICE Arrests in South Texas

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that its Harlingen, Texas, field office, working with law enforcement partners, arrested 238 illegal immigrants in a single-day operation that the agency said set a record for targeted arrests in the Rio Grande Valley. [2] ICE said the arrests marked the highest number of targeted arrests in a single day for Enforcement and Removal Operations Harlingen. [2] The June 18 operation resulted in the arrests of illegal immigrants with convictions including attempted kidnapping, sexual battery and drug possession, according to the agency. [2] "The ICE mission continues to focus on enhancing public safety and restoring integrity to our nation’s immigration system," ICE Harlingen Field Office Director Juan Agudelo said in a statement. [2] "We will stop at nothing to keep our American communities safe by removing one criminal illegal alien at a time," he added. [2] The arrests come as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration and seeks to remove criminal illegal immigrants from communities across the country. [2]

Notable Arrests and Criminal Histories

Among those arrested was Manuel Morales-Geronimo, a Mexican national whom authorities identified as a Paisas gang member. [2] Morales-Geronimo was previously convicted of assault causing bodily injury, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, driving while intoxicated, illegal entry into the United States and three counts of illegal reentry, according to ICE. [2] Jose Alfredo Castillo-Mendoza, also a Mexican national, was arrested during the operation. [2] According to ICE, he was previously convicted of attempted kidnapping, sexual battery and illegal reentry. [2] The operation by ICE's Harlingen field office set a record for targeted arrests in the Rio Grande Valley and included individuals convicted of crimes such as attempted kidnapping, sexual battery, assault, drug possession and illegal reentry. [2]

Trump Administration Immigration Enforcement

The arrests were announced as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration and seeks to remove criminal illegal immigrants from U.S. communities. [2] The announcement coincided with President Donald Trump publicly opposing any pause on ICE traffic stops, calling them one of the agency's most important crime-fighting tools after two recent fatal shootings during such stops. [2] In a reversal, Trump stated ICE would not halt vehicle stops following the fatal shootings of a Mexican national in Houston and a Colombian national in Maine, incidents that prompted protests and scrutiny over the lack of body cameras on agents. [5] The arrests come as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration and seeks to remove criminal illegal immigrants from communities across the country. [2] Nationwide arrests of immigrants have surged in recent weeks, despite the administration's shift to more targeted operations, away from the broad street sweeps that characterized earlier crackdowns in Democratic-led cities. [5]

Policy Reversal on ICE Traffic Stops

The announcement came the same day President Donald Trump pushed back on a reported DHS move to pause most ICE traffic stops, calling them "one of ICE's most important and effective Crime Fighting tools." [2] In a social media post, Trump wrote, "We CANNOT give up one of ICE's most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!" [2] The president added that the DHS policy shift would be "playing right into the criminal’s [sic] hands." [2] His words contradicted administration officials' announcement on Tuesday that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had ordered its officers to suspend most vehicle stops around the country after two killings in the span of a week. [5] "It's not a policy change, it's a temporary pause," Trump's border czar Tom Homan had told Fox News Channel in an interview on Tuesday. [5] "This is going to be a short-term review to make sure ICE agents are safe and doing the right thing." [5] In a reversal, Trump stated ICE would not halt vehicle stops following the fatal shootings of a Mexican national in Houston and a Colombian national in Maine, incidents that prompted protests and scrutiny over the lack of body cameras on agents. [5]

Recent Fatal Shootings Spark Scrutiny

The reported pause followed scrutiny over recent fatal encounters involving immigration enforcement traffic stops. [2] The agency's aggressive tactics are once again under scrutiny after an ICE officer on Monday killed a driver from Colombia in the coastal Maine town of Biddeford, about 24 kilometers south of Portland. [5] Six days earlier, another ICE officer in Houston fatally shot a Mexican national. [5] In both cases, the agents had attempted to pull over the drivers, even though officials have acknowledged they were not the targets of the operations. [5] The back-to-back shootings sparked protests in Maine, Houston and Boston and raised questions over ICE agents' lack of body cameras. [5] Federal authorities have offered no evidence to support contentions that either man posed a threat to ICE agents or the public at large that would justify the use of lethal force to stop them. [5] The Maine driver, 25-year-old Johan Sebastian Duran, was a Colombian national with a wife and a 3-year-old daughter. [5] He was authorized to work in the US, according to immigration advocates. [5] At least seven people have been shot dead during federal immigration enforcement operations since January 2025, when Trump launched mass deportations after returning to office following campaign promises of an immigration crackdown. [5]

What to watch next: The temporary pause on most vehicle stops announced by ICE officials on Tuesday will undergo a short-term review to ensure agents are safe and doing the right thing, even as President Trump has insisted traffic stops must continue as one of the agency's key crime-fighting tools.