ICE nabbed 118 illegal immigrants in a series of sweeps targeting central California — with the “worst of the worst” crew including convicted pervs with disturbing rap sheets, federal officials said.
The six-day surge between Christmas and New Year’s saw federal agents cuff pedophiles, sex offenders, burglars and domestic abusers, including a man found guilty of committing lewd acts with a child under 14, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the “surge operation” to close out 2025 targeted “the worst of the worst criminals in the country illegally — as she took a shot at Gov. Gavin Newsom and local sanctuary city policies.
“Criminal illegal aliens flock to California because they know Governor Newsom and his fellow sanctuary politicians will allow them to terrorize innocent American families,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “In 2026, our law enforcement will continue to do what Gavin Newsom refused to do: make California safe again.”
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DHS highlighted that agents had taken into custody Mexican citizen Juan Perez Tello, 42, who was previously convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and is a registered sex offender, the DHS said.
Another Mexican national had four DUI convictions, one of which was a DUI causing bodily injury, according to the Trump administration.
Other names released by DHS included illegal immigrants with rap sheets that included charges such as false imprisonment, causing injury to a child, assault with a deadly weapon, and alien smuggling.
More than 10,000 illegal immigrants — including suspected murderers, kidnappers, sexual predators and carjackers — have been arrested in Los Angeles since the Trump administration launched operations in June, according to the DHS.
The names of the 10 “worst of the worst” offenders during the LA crackdown were in the country illegally and booked on serious crimes like rape, homicide, kidnapping and child sex offenses, the feds said.
Los Angeles, which operates as a sanctuary city under California law, has proposed measures in recent months to respond to the surge in ICE sweeps in the city — including legislation that would ban agents from wearing masks, a move aimed at preventing what critics say are “secret police” tactics.
Newsom, who is expected to launch a 2028 presidential bid, has slammed President Trump for what he has called the militarization of the city.
“Enough is enough – [White House deputy chief of staff] Stephen Miller and Trump’s chaos campaign needs to end now,” Newsom said in a statement in 2025 in reaction to local ICE operations.
“They are violating constitutional rights, terrorizing neighborhoods and businesses, and targeting people because of their skin color and the language they speak,” he added. “These heartless and cruel actions have real consequences for our economy and society.”
