Four of the 11 alleged sex offenders arrested in an Indiana police sting are undocumented immigrants from four different countries, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Investigators said the suspects believed they were messaging underage girls online. Each allegedly drove to a meeting expecting a sexual encounter, only to find undercover detectives waiting instead.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has filed detainer requests for all four suspects.
The suspects include El Hadji Babacar Ndiaye, a Senegalese national who was apprehended and released at the southern border in Lukeville, Arizona, in September 2023 under the Biden administration.
Lucky Philip Udoudo, a Nigerian national, allegedly entered the United States as a “got-away” at an unknown time and location.
Filomeno Ricardo Flores Marin, a Mexican national, entered the country illegally through Arizona in 2002, according to DHS.
David Josue Gomez-Posada, a Salvadoran national, entered the United States illegally in 2017 as a juvenile.
“We are calling on Indiana to honor our detainers,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News. “All of their claims will be heard by an immigration judge, and they will receive due process. This administration will not ignore the rule of law.”
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Marin faces two counts of sex offenses, along with one count each of molesting a minor and enticing a minor for indecent purposes.
His prior criminal record also includes an arrest involving stolen property.
ICE previously arrested Marin on Jan. 18, 2019, while he was assisting the Drug Enforcement Administration with an operation in Indianapolis, Indiana.
He was released on bond on March 7, 2019.
Udoudo is charged with child solicitation and sexual misconduct involving a minor. Gomez-Posada faces a child-solicitation charge, while Ndiaye is also charged with child solicitation.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the US,” the DHS spokesperson said.
DHS also said that seven of the 10 safest cities in the United States cooperate with ICE. The agency argued that coordination between federal immigration officials and local law enforcement is essential to addressing crime and apprehending undocumented immigrants accused of criminal offenses.
The department pointed to 40,000 arrests in Florida and a separate two-week operation in West Virginia that led to the arrests of 650 undocumented immigrants.