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A Christmastime U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation named Operation “Angel’s Honor” in tribute to murdered Georgia nursing student Laken Riley netted over 1,000 criminal illegal aliens, according to the agency.
In a Monday statement, ICE announced the “successful conclusion” of a 14-day enforcement operation that it said resulted in over 1,030 criminal illegal aliens arrested under the Laken Riley Act.
The agency said the operation was codenamed “Angel’s Honor” in memory of Riley, who was murdered by Venezuelan illegal alien Jose Ibarra in 2024. Congress passed the Laken Riley Act with bipartisan support in January, and the measure was signed into law by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office.
The law stipulates mandatory detention of non-citizens charged with specific crimes, including burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault on a law enforcement officer, or any crime causing serious bodily injury or death.
Jose Ibarra, left, was found guilty on 10 counts in the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, right. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
In the Monday statement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Trump “empowered us to arrest and remove the millions of violent criminal illegal aliens unleashed on the United States by the previous administration.”
“Now, these criminals will face justice and be removed from our country,” said Noem.
“We can never bring Laken back, but we can do everything in our power to bring these heinous criminals to justice,” she went on, adding, “I am so proud of what our brave men and women of ICE have done to remove these criminals from America’s streets.”
ICE highlighted some of the criminal illegals arrested during the operation, which included individuals who raped and tortured children.
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ICE agents during an immigration enforcement operation in the Houston, Texas area earlier this year. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Among those arrested was Jamie Escobar-Mirales, a 37-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, who ICE said was arrested on Dec. 18. According to the agency, his criminal history includes an arrest for two counts of rape of a child. He is now facing removal proceedings.
A different illegal immigrant from Mexico named Javier Diaz-Cabrera, 40, was arrested on Dec. 18. He has a criminal history that includes an arrest for illegal sexual contact with a victim under the age of 13 and sexual assault with a victim under 18 by a guardian.
Evelyn Martinez-Rodriguez, a 36-year-old from Honduras, was arrested on Dec. 9. ICE said her criminal history includes arrests for assault-torture/willful abuse of a child, domestic violence assault, assault and public order crimes.
Another illegal, Fredy Garcia-Canan, a 34-year-old from Guatemala, was arrested on Dec. 19. He has an outstanding removal order from 2024 and has a criminal history including an arrest for intentional bodily harm with a deadly weapon, criminal discharge of a firearm and aggravated endangering to a child. Guatemalan illegal Brandon Barrientos-Garcia, 28, was also arrested on Dec. 19. His criminal history includes an arrest for assault by strangulation, breaking/entering to terrorize/injure and domestic violence assault, per ICE.
Left to right from top: Jamie Escobar-Mirales, Javier Diaz-Cabrera, Evelyn Martinez-Rodriguez, Fredy Garcia-Canan, Brandon Barrientos-Garcia, Fernando Manzanares-Cruz, Braulio Rosas-Ayala. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images; ICE)
Fernando Manzanares-Cruz, a 40-year-old from El Salvador, was arrested on Dec. 16 and had a removal order from 2016. His criminal history includes arrests for assault and battery of a pregnant victim, assault and battery of a family/household member and witness intimidation.
Even further back, ICE arrested Mexican illegal Braulio Rosas-Ayala, 44, who was ordered removed by an immigration judge in 1999. Rosas-Ayala’s criminal history includes an arrest for rape and sodomy.
Commenting on the roundup, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said, “We named this operation ‘Angel’s Honor’ in honor of the memory of Laken Riley, whose life was tragically cut short by illegal alien crime.”
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U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security in the Cannon House Office Building on December 11, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“This operation, while a massive success, also serves as a solemn reminder of the profound impact that immigrant violence and crime can have on victims and their loved ones,” said Lyons.
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“ICE’s mission,” said Lyons, “is to ensure that no more Americans will fall victim to illegal alien crime.”
