In a sweeping six-month effort, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 214 illegal immigrants in the Houston area for offenses involving the sexual exploitation of minors, successfully surpassing the total number for the entire 2024 fiscal year, when 211 such arrests were made.

According to a release from ICE, each of those arrested was either charged with or convicted of a child sex offense. The agency attributes this spike to a “whole-of-government” strategy enacted under the Trump administration. 

Former Arizona Supreme Court Judge Andrew Gould, who previously served in the border city of Yuma, told Fox News Digital that Houston’s proximity to the southern border plays a significant role in this surge of arrests.

“In Yuma, sex trafficking and sexual offenses were common, because offenders could commit a crime and then flee to an enclave in Mexico,” Gould explained. “For a border state like Texas, and a city like Houston that isn’t too far from the border, it doesn’t surprise me at all to see these kinds of arrests.”

Gould said that the takedown of the hundreds of suspected criminal migrants will reverberate across the community and create a safer city.

“Criminals don’t specialize in just one type of crime. Someone who sexually assaults children may also be involved in gang activity, drug trafficking, or financial crimes. Every time you remove one of these offenders, you’re protecting the community from multiple threats.”