Noem Announces Arrests On Christmas

While much of the country was gathering around the tree and celebrating Christmas, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were on duty — not stringing lights, but making arrests. And these weren’t run-of-the-mill immigration cases.

These were convicted murderers, gang members, drug traffickers, and violent felons — all foreign nationals who entered the country illegally and went on to wreak havoc in American communities.

According to Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, ICE delivered the American people “the greatest gift of all: getting criminals out of our neighborhoods and protecting our families.” And indeed, the list of arrests reads like a roll call of the worst offenders in the system.

Among those detained over the Christmas holiday:

• Samuel Juarez-Cruz, a Mexican national, convicted of criminal homicide and third-degree murder in Pennsylvania.
• Miguel Gonzalez-Toledo, an illegal alien from Cuba, convicted of homicide and drug trafficking in Florida.
• Mohamed Hassan Jeylani, from Somalia, racked up eight convictions in New York, including reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.
• Lionel Arevalo-Rubio, a convicted MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, charged with robbery in Los Angeles.
• Juan David Vazquez-Reyes, from Mexico, convicted of death by auto or vessel in New Jersey.
• Marcos Archila-Aquino, from Guatemala, convicted of aggravated assault with a weapon in Utah.
• Juan Zarzoza-Garza, another Mexican national, convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Texas.
• Yasir Emilio Lohai Ojok, from Sudan, convicted of second-degree burglary in California.
• Leonardo Miliano, from the Dominican Republic, convicted of illegally carrying firearms in Massachusetts.
• Jose Arena-Ojeda, a Venezuelan national, convicted for alien smuggling and conspiracy in Texas.

This isn’t hypothetical. These aren’t fears or projections. These are real people, with real victims, already convicted of serious crimes on U.S. soil — who, had they not been apprehended by ICE this December, would still be walking American streets.

But while ICE officers continue to do their job — often with little credit and even less support — the threats they face are growing rapidly. According to numbers from The Washington Examiner, there were 238 reported assaults on ICE officers in 2025 (through November), compared to just 19 the previous year. That’s a staggering 1,153% increase.

Why? Perhaps because in much of the political discourse, ICE officers are portrayed not as protectors, but as villains. Progressive politicians continue to attack the agency, question its purpose, and demand it be defunded or even dismantled. The result: a rising culture of hostility, emboldening those who see federal law enforcement as the enemy.

And yet, these agents keep showing up — even on holidays — to remove violent offenders who shouldn’t be here in the first place. As McLaughlin rightly noted, “We are thankful for our law enforcement who sacrifice time with their family and put their lives on the line to remove the worst of the worst.”