DHS disputes Democrats’ claims about ICE targeting worst criminals

The Department of Homeland Security fired back at several Democrats over the weekend, saying their claims that ICE crackdowns weren’t focused on the most dangerous illegal immigrants showed they had been “fooled” by the policy.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., had spearheaded a press release featuring the Illinois Democratic delegation just days before — in which they took issue with DHS’s behavior and their claims that they were targeting the most egregious offenders as part of their “Operation Midway Blitz.”

DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said she needs to set the record straight about these accounts, emphasizing that the agency continues to seek out “criminal illegal aliens convicted of heinous crimes” like aggravated sexual assault of children, child pornography and drug trafficking.

“While Democratic politicians attempt to bamboozle the American public and claim that DHS law enforcement is not targeting the worst of the worst illegal alien criminals, our courageous ICE law enforcement is putting their lives on the line to remove pedophiles, drug dealers and other violent thugs from America’s neighborhoods,” McLaughlin said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

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Sen. Dick Durbin speaks about Operation Midway Blitz, flanked by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, left, Gov. JB Pritzker, second from left, and Mayor Brandon Johnson, right. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“We will not allow these heinous criminals to terrorize innocent American children and families.”

McLaughlin then outlined the worst offenders in recent days, including new names provided exclusively to Fox News Digital.

Mexican national Cristian Mendivil-Diaz was convicted of aggravated battery of a child and domestic battery in Illinois – while Burmese national Liam San was arrested in ICE’s latest focus on Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, after a conviction for indecent liberties with a child. Other offenders captured included Salvadoran national Guillermo Guevara-Serrano, convicted of aggravated assault of a minor in Dallas.

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Orville C. Weir, of Jamaica, was convicted of lewd/lascivious acts with a minor in the Fort Lauderdale area and recently arrested by ICE.

An illegal Congolese immigrant named Andre Lubala, convicted of aggravated assault near Philadelphia, Tennessee, was also captured by federal authorities, according to DHS.

In their original DHS “fact check,” Illinois Democrats called the agency’s public posture a “disinformation campaign.”

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Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Ill. (Octavio Jones/Reuters)

“The Trump administration continues to peddle outright lies from its unprovoked, unnecessary and unnecessary enforcement activities in Illinois,” Durbin said in a statement.

“The photos and videos coming out of Illinois are horrific, showing unspeakable acts committed by the United States government against its own civilians, including tear gas, pepper spraying, racial profiling, excessive force, and physical violence.”

“Squad” Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago, called McLaughlin, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Czar Thomas Homan “vicious liars” who were caught “manipulating” to hide illegal actions.

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“I am proud to work with my colleagues in the Illinois Congressional delegation to set the record straight on the terror and lawlessness that ICE and CBP have inflicted on our communities,” Ramirez said.

Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., — who faced scrutiny over the timing of his retirement announcement, which put his chief of staff on the 2026 ballot — said he witnessed “brutality and abuse” at the hands of DHS in his heavily Hispanic Chicago district.

“My grandchild is scared because their helicopters fly over our neighborhood at night. People get arrested and disappear,” Garcia said.

Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., who represents suburban DuPage and Will County along Chicago’s western edge, said in a statement that ICE operations in the Windy City “are not law enforcement.”

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Delia Ramirez, member of the “Squad”, from Chicago. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“This is a campaign of fear and intimidation. Federal agents, under orders from the Trump administration, have repeatedly used violence against peaceful communities,” Foster said.

In a formerly red district further west in Chicago, Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood added in a statement that DHS is not pursuing the worst of the worst but pursuing a “horrible campaign to sow fear in our communities, trample on our constitutional rights, and violently snatch people from our streets.”