Oregon — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that more than 17,500 criminal illegal aliens have been arrested and detained under crimes covered by the Laken Riley Act, which federal officials say is now being aggressively enforced under President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
According to DHS, the Laken Riley Act was the first piece of legislation signed by President Trump and mandates federal detention of illegal aliens accused of crimes including theft, burglary, assault on law enforcement officers, and offenses causing death or serious bodily injury.
The law is named after Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student who was killed by an illegal alien from Venezuela identified by federal officials as a member of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang. DHS stated the suspect had previously been arrested and released into the United States in 2022, later re-arrested by New York City police, and released again prior to the homicide.
Earlier this week, Secretary Noem announced the conclusion of Operation Angel’s Honor, a 14-day nationwide enforcement initiative conducted in Riley’s name. During the operation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported arresting 1,030 criminal illegal aliens accused of crimes covered under the act.
“In honor of Laken Riley, ICE launched Operation Angel’s Honor — in the last two weeks alone arresting more than 1,000 criminal illegal aliens under the authority of the Laken Riley Act,” Noem said in a prepared statement. She added that the administration intends to prioritize arrest, detention, and removal of illegal aliens accused of violent crimes.
DHS released details of multiple arrests made during the operation, involving individuals from Cuba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Iraq, and India. The reported convictions and charges include homicide, rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, drug trafficking, weapons offenses, and crimes involving children.
Federal officials said enforcement actions under the Laken Riley Act will continue nationwide.
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