Violent offenders, sex predators arrested in Minneapolis amid anti-ICE backlash
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Despite widespread protests and intense pressure from local and state politicians to halt operations, the Department of Homeland Security said its agents continue to eliminate the “scourge” of sexual predators, violent attackers, domestic abusers and drug traffickers from the streets of Minneapolis.
Immigration officials in the city have faced intense opposition from anti-ICE agitators, especially since the fatal shooting of activist Renee Nicole Good. Despite this, DHS said its efforts in Minneapolis, called “Operation Subway Surge,” continue to catch illegal immigrants with serious criminal records.
Among those arrested by DHS agents this week was Teng Houa Vang, an illegal alien from Thailand; He was convicted of domestic assault and pleaded guilty to charges of making terroristic threats and violating a protection order, according to the agency. He is also charged with arson, surveillance, obstructing police, trespassing, assault, drug possession and destruction of property.
Another, Michael Opeoluwa Egbele from Nigeria, was arrested by immigration officials on Tuesday and found guilty of fraud and impersonation.
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From top left to right: Teng Houa Vang, Francisco Salazar-Solorzano, Victor Javier Bahena-Sandoval, Lorenzo Armillas Llaurado, Santiago Antunes Mendiola and Michael Opeoluwa Egbele. (Christopher Juhn/Anatolia; DHS via Getty Images)
A third, Francisco Salazar-Solorzano of El Salvador, was also arrested Tuesday and charged with assault, domestic violence and driving under the influence.
Mexican illegal immigrant Victor Javier Bahena-Sandoval was also arrested in Minneapolis and has a criminal history that includes an arrest for domestic violence and four convictions for disorderly conduct and unlawful reentry. Another Mexican citizen, Santiago Antunes Mendiola, was also arrested the same day and tried on charges of assault.
Spanish national Lorenzo Armillas Llaurado was also captured and convicted of felony distribution of a controlled substance.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers question a man about his condition on Lake Street near Karmel Mall in Minnesota on December 10, 2025. (Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We are in Minnesota to apprehend the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Wednesday.
McLaughlin said Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey “refused to let us into their prisons and instead chose to release criminal illegal aliens back into Minnesota neighborhoods to victimize more Americans.”
“Despite the violence against them and the lack of cooperation from sanctuary politicians, our law enforcement will not stop their efforts to remove criminals from our country,” McLaughlin continued. “Another day, another scourge of sexual predators, violent attackers, domestic abusers and drug traffickers arrested by our law enforcement on the streets of Minnesota.”
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Federal agents use tear gas as anti-ICE agitators advance down a smoke-filled street during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on January 13, 2026. (Mustafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to Walz and Frey’s offices but did not immediately receive a response.
