DHS Official: ICE Officers Arresting 'Scumbags' While Working Without Pay

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are still arresting some of the nation's most violent criminal illegal aliens — even while working without pay during the government shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Friday.

"We are not letting the Democrats' government shutdown slow us down from arresting the worst of the worst from American communities," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

ICE said its officers continue to put their lives on the line, despite missing paychecks, to take dangerous offenders off America's streets.

"Some of the scumbags arrested yesterday have convictions for aggravated sexual assault of a child, gross sexual imposition, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, assault causing bodily injury, and unlawful and illegal possession of a firearm," McLaughlin said.

"These are not people you want in your neighborhood," McLaughlin added.

"ICE law enforcement officers, without pay because of the Democrats' government shutdown, are risking their lives to arrest the worst of the worst."

The department highlighted a series of arrests made across the U.S. on Thursday, targeting criminal aliens with convictions for crimes including sexual assault of a child, gross sexual imposition, and firearm offenses.

Among those taken into custody:

• Rubio Ramirez-Zabaleta, from Guatemala, convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in Brazos County, Texas.
• Jose Ruben Gomez-Munoz, from Mexico, convicted of gross sexual imposition in Mandan, North Dakota.
• Walner Josue Alvarado-Sabonje, from Honduras, convicted of unlawful firearm possession in the Middle District of Florida.
• Sergio Montano-Zaragoza, from Mexico, convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in San Mateo, California.
• Jesus Adorno-Garcia, from Mexico, convicted of assault causing bodily injury and enhanced family violence in Austin, Texas.

DHS said these arrests show how ICE continues to prioritize removing violent offenders despite the funding freeze.

Officials stressed that communities remain safer because of the work of law enforcement officers who have not stopped doing their jobs.

The department also used the release to underscore the dangers officers face every day, pointing out that many of the arrests involve violent individuals armed with weapons or with a history of assault.

Even with no pay, ICE agents continue to carry out what DHS calls a "mission-critical role" in protecting Americans.