Christmastime ‘Angel’s Honor’ operation rounds up 1,000+ criminal illegal aliens

According to the agency, a Christmas-time operation by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, dubbed Operation “Angel’s Honor” in honor of slain Georgia nursing student Lakin Riley, arrested more than 1,000 criminal illegal aliens.

In a statement Monday, ICE announced the “successful completion” of a 14-day enforcement operation that it said resulted in the arrest of more than 1,030 criminal illegal aliens under the Lakin-Riley Act.

The agency said the operation was named “Angel’s Honor” in memory of Riley, who was killed by Venezuelan illegal alien Jose Ibarra in 2024. congress passed the Laken-Riley Act with bipartisan support in January, and President Donald Trump signed the measure into law shortly after taking office.

The law provides for mandatory imprisonment for noncitizens accused of certain crimes, including burglary, theft, robbery, theft, assault on a law enforcement officer, or any crime causing serious bodily injury or death.

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In a statement Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Trump “has given us the authority to arrest and remove millions of violent criminal illegal aliens released into the United States by the previous administration.”

“Now, these criminals will face justice and be removed from our country,” Noem said.

“We can never bring Lakin back, but we can do everything we can to bring these heinous criminals to justice,” she continued, adding: “I am so proud of what our brave men and women at Immigration and Customs Enforcement did to remove these criminals from America’s streets.”

ICE highlighted some of the illegal criminals arrested during the operation, including 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. (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Among those arrested was Jimmy Escobar Miralles, a 37-year-old illegal Mexican alien who ICE said was arrested on December 18. According to the agency, his criminal history includes being arrested on two counts of rape of a child. He now faces deportation proceedings.

Another illegal immigrant from Mexico, Javier Diaz Cabrera, 40, was arrested on December 18. He has a criminal history that includes arrest for unlawful sexual intercourse with a victim under the age of 13 and sexual assault of a victim under the age of 18 by a guardian.

Evelyn Martinez Rodriguez, 36, from Honduras, was arrested on December 9. Her criminal history includes arrests for assault, torture, intentional abuse of a child, domestic violence assault, assault and public order crimes, ICE said.

Another illegal, Freddy Garcia Canan, 34, from Guatemala, was arrested on December 19. He has an outstanding deportation order starting in 2024 and a criminal history including arrest for intentional bodily harm with a deadly weapon, criminal discharge of a firearm and child endangerment. Brandon Barrientos Garcia, a 28-year-old Guatemalan illegal, was also arrested on December 19. His criminal history includes arrests for assault by strangulation, break/enter to intimidate/injury, and domestic violence assault, according to ICE.

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From left to right from top: Jimmy Escobar Miralles, Javier Diaz Cabrera, Evelyn Martinez Rodriguez, Freddy Garcia Canan, Brandon Barrientos Garcia, Fernando Manzanares Cruz, Braulio Rosas Ayala. (Sloan George/The Washington Post via Getty Images; ICE)

Fernando Manzanares Cruz, 40, of El Salvador, was arrested on December 16 and had a deportation order as of 2016. His criminal history includes arrests for assault and battery on a pregnant victim, assault and battery on a family/household member and witness intimidation.

Even further back, ICE arrested illegal Mexican Braulio Rosas Ayala, 44, who an immigration judge ordered deported in 1999. Rosas Ayala’s criminal history includes an arrest for rape and sodomy.

Commenting on the arrest, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said, “We have named this operation ‘Angel’s Honor’ in memory of Laken Riley, whose life was tragically cut short by a bizarre, unlawful crime.”

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US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee at the Cannon House Office Building on December 11, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“While this operation has been a tremendous success, it serves as a solemn reminder of the profound impact that migrant violence and crimes can have on victims and their loved ones,” Lyons said.

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“Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s mission is to ensure that no more Americans fall victim to illegal alien crimes,” Lyons said.