Category: Blaze Media
Illinois lawmakers gain access to Chicago-area ICE facility after pushback
A group of Illinois Democrats accessed a Chicago-area Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility after previous pushback, some of the lawmakers said on the social platform X. “@repdeliaramirez @RepDannyDavis @RepChuyGarcia and I finally were able to enter the Broadview ICE Facility after being denied entry in June,” Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) said Tuesday in a…
The Memo: Latest Jeffrey Epstein files hit Trump harder
President Trump is grappling with a new disclosure of Jeffrey Epstein-related material that hit him much harder than the initial batch of documents released last week. The new tranche of almost 30,000 items released late on Monday was worse for Trump in part simply because the president’s name was mentioned more frequently. But the second…
Joint pain supplement recalled nationwide over lead concerns
The FDA already sent a letter to Handelnine warning the company’s products were “unapproved.”
2 Trump appointees join majority as SCOTUS rules against president’s order to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday against the Trump administration asking to allow the president to order National Guard troops to Chicago, Illinois.
Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch publicly dissented from the opinion, which passed 6 to 3.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Trump-appointed Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett joined the majority. Kavanaugh wrote a separate concurring opinion.
‘The government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois.’
The Trump administration argued that it had the authority to order troops into Chicago in order to protect federal agents performing deportation operations. The government was asking for a stay against an order blocking the troops from U.S. District Judge April Perry in October.
“At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the majority order reads.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote that federal officers were “forced to operate under the constant threat of mob violence” and cited incidents where they were threatened and assaulted.
Much of the protests and violence has been directed against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview.
“Finally a ruling from this Supreme Court that makes clear what all patriotic Americans know: No Kings,” wrote Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.
RELATED: DHS has a message for ‘cowards’ threatening ICE on social media — influencer laughs in response
Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker previously criticized the administration over the troop order.
“Donald Trump will keep trying to invade Illinois with troops — and we will keep defending the sovereignty of our state,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy. What will come next?”
Other critics of National Guard orders from the White House accuse the president of trying to militarize the streets in order to intimidate his political opponents.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Making a list and checking it twice: ICE’s year-end roundup of the most heinous illegal alien invaders
Over the past 11 months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies have worked to put away numerous murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, drug traffickers, and terrorists.
The Department of Homeland Security listed over a dozen of the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens who were arrested by federal law enforcement agents in 2025 in a press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News.
The department stated that 70% of ICE’s arrests were illegal aliens who were either convicted of or charged with a crime in the United States.
‘Americans can be proud of DHS law enforcement who worked around the clock this year to remove the worst of the worst from American neighborhoods.’
The DHS year-end roundup highlighted ICE New Orleans’ arrest of Olvin Rodriguez-Inestroza, a Honduran national with active warrants for 394 counts of pornography involving juveniles and two counts of sexual abuse of an animal.
In July, the then-22-year-old pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography after investigators found hundreds of disturbing photos and videos on his phone, including some involving toddlers.
Olvin Rodriguez-Inestroza. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
Federal agents also arrested Diego Barron-Esquivel, a Mexican national who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for violently assaulting and strangling an ICE officer in February in Wichita, Kansas. Barron-Esquivel was accused of consistently harassing his former spouse, and he was previously arrested on multiple counts of domestic battery, protection order violations, aggravated robbery, felony theft, and other offenses.
Diego Barron-Esquivel. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
Jaan Shah Safi, an Afghan national, entered the country under former President Joe Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome” in 2021. He was previously arrested for allegedly providing support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan, also referred to as ISIS-K. According to the DHS, Safi provided weapons to his father, who is a commander of an Afghan militia group. The DHS announced in early December that ICE agents arrested Safi in Waynesboro, Virginia, after his Temporary Protected Status application was terminated.
Jaan Shah Safi. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
ICE captured Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, an MS-13 gang member from Honduras who is believed to have illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 after he allegedly bribed his way out of jail in his home country. He is wanted in Honduras for a quadruple homicide and is an alleged member of an assassination squad. Federal immigration agents caught up to Cuadra Soto in Grand Island, Nebraska, on December 8.
Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
Jose Alfredo Uzeta, a Mexican national, was accused of performing dental procedures without a license. He was convicted of dentistry act violation and indecent assault in Harris County, Texas.
Jose Alfredo Uzeta. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa, from Mexico, was accused of running a sex trafficking operation in Miami, Florida, with his family. ICE Los Angeles arrested Cadena-Sosa in San Pedro, California, in December. According to the Department of Justice, he and his family approached females, some as young as 14, in Mexico to lure them into the U.S. under false promises of work opportunities. Once in the U.S., they allegedly imposed a smuggling debt and used threats and violence to force the females into engaging in prostitution 12 hours a day, six days a week.
Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
ICE agents also rounded up Antonio Israel Lazo-Quintanilla, from El Salvador, who is a confirmed gang member of the 18th Street Gang, which is designated a foreign terrorist organization. He is wanted in his home country for aggravated homicide, extortion, drug possession, and other felonies. Federal agents nabbed Lazo-Quintanilla in March.
Antonio Israel Lazo-Quintanilla. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez, from El Salvador, was convicted of sexual assault of a child under 17 years old. His criminal history also includes multiple DUIs, child fondling, and illegal re-entering of the U.S. During his November arrest, the convicted pedophile allegedly assaulted an ICE officer with a metal coffee cup, resulting in a laceration that required 13 stitches.
Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
ICE agents arrested Thao Van Cao, a Vietnamese national who is a member of the Asian Cheap Boy criminal gang. His lengthy rap sheet includes 25 convictions for crimes such as flight to avoid prosecution, possession of a controlled substance, second-degree robbery, cruelty toward the elderly, arson, and theft.
Thao Van Cao. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
Aldrin Guerrero-Munoz was picked up by federal immigration agents in October. The criminal illegal alien was previously sentenced to 32 years in prison for the intentional murder of his 3-month-old son.
Aldrin Guerrero-Munoz. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
ICE apprehended Jung Choi, a 53-year-old from South Korea. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter after she and her male companion were accused of murdering his wife.
Jung Choi. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
Jonatan Monzon-Olivares, a Guatemalan national, was taken off the street in August. He had been arrested 38 times with 15 convictions for crimes including sexual assault, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, possession of stolen property, and obstructing justice.
Jonatan Monzon-Olivares. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
Federal agents nabbed Alejandro Lima-Ramirez, who was previously arrested two dozen times in California and Oregon. He has 16 convictions, including for drug trafficking, robbery, fraud, and carrying a concealed weapon.
Alejandro Lima-Ramirez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
In August, ICE agents apprehended Michael Kabiona, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty in 2015 of repeatedly raping his stepdaughter, starting when she was 9 years old.
Michael Kabiona. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
Pedro Luis Ortiz-Mendez and Jose Vicente Ortiz-Mendez, brothers from Mexico, were also arrested by federal immigration agents in August. The two men are wanted in their home country for multiple murders.
Pedro Luis Ortiz-Mendez and Jose Vicente Ortiz-Mendez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
Lastly, the DHS highlighted this year’s arrest of Yehia Elham Badawi, an Egyptian national with a lengthy criminal record, including robbery, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment, among other violent felonies. His convictions stem from a 1994 shoot-out that seriously injured a Philadelphia police officer.
Yehia Elham Badawi. Image source: Department of Homeland Security
“Americans can be proud of DHS law enforcement who worked around the clock this year to remove the worst of the worst from American neighborhoods. Our law enforcement has put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
McLaughlin stated that under the leadership of President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, “criminals are not welcome in the U.S. If you come to our country and break our laws, we will find you, arrest you, and deport you.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
