118 arrested in Colony Ridge immigration operation near Houston

HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports ICE arrested 118 people after state troopers and federal agents descended on Colony Ridge as part of an operation targeting “criminals and illegal immigrants,” officials said on X, releasing a smattering of charges including homicide, theft, child sex abuse and crimes of moral turpitude. But as of Tuesday, they only provided one name in connection with the operation. Florentin Chevez-Luna, 39, is a three-time deportee from El Salvador who was arrested on a warrant for repeated sexual abuse of a minor from November 2008 to November 2016, according to a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE doesn’t typically release names in connection with immigration operations, a spokesperson said. They referred questions to their email address, but hadn’t responded to a request for a list of names and charges.

Around the same time officials provided Chevez-Luna’s name, President Donald Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, told Fox News that agents had made around 90 arrests in connection with Monday’s operation. He did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment by the Chronicle. Abbott directed all questions related to the operation to DHS. Just after 2:30 p.m., ICE posted on X that the number was 118. Silvia Mintz, a Houston immigration attorney for 17 years, said it might take time before the names and whereabouts of those taken into the federal system to become public. Within 48 hours, those detained will be allowed to call friends or family and provide an identification number to track their court dates, she said. Those taken into custody will either face federal charges if they have a history of deportations or a criminal record, Mintz continued. For those who don’t and have spent years in the U.S., they’ll likely wind up in immigration court — a civil proceeding that allows some to be released on bond — for removal from the country. Those who successfully fight their removal in immigration court can receive a green card, Mintz added.