ICE agents in Houston attack fleeing illegal immigrants

HOUSTON, Texas — Bold Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Houston made two major arrests last week, bringing in a fugitive with a lengthy criminal record who had been deported three times and a suspected murderer.

The Post was on hand to see ICE fugitive operations agents conduct a pre-dawn raid in the Houston area, bringing in Mexican national Rosvelt Arturo Sanchez Sanchez.

Early Wednesday, ICE agents arrested the 39-year-old Mexican national, three times deported, at a residence in Houston.

Sanchez has an extensive criminal history with convictions for disturbing the peace, possession of cocaine, driving under the influence and assault of a family member.

“He was pretty egregiously criminal,” John Linscott, who oversees ICE fugitive operations in Houston, told the Post.

The arrest took place at his dilapidated home in a low-income neighborhood, where Sanchez was hiding with his wife and young child – who could be heard yelling at his father throughout the arrest.

He was getting out of his car when ICE agents, who identified themselves, served him with a warrant for his arrest and quickly took him into custody.

Sanchez appeared to accept his fate and did not fight with the officers.

After handcuffing Sanchez and putting him in one of their vehicles, the ICE agents moved a few blocks away to better detain him without creating a scene in front of his family and neighbors.

Days earlier, on June 3, agents descended on another Houston property to capture Honduran national Jose Ulloa-Martinez, 42.

Ulloa-Martinez was on the run for allegedly killing Kevin Merlos-Saravia, 23, in North Carolina days earlier.

Ulloa-Martinez had entered the United States illegally by circumventing authorities at an unknown time and location.

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department in North Carolina alerted ICE to Ulloa-Martinez’s escape and he was later identified as being at his brother’s house in Houston.

Linscott said Ulloa-Martinez was trying to flee when his officers came down to make the arrest.

“He was carrying a backpack, clothes, bottled water and a blanket. He was getting ready to leave,” Linscott said.

“It looked like he was getting ready to flee Houston,”

Like Ulloa-Martinez, more than 1.7 million “fugitive” migrants have entered the country by sneaking across the border since President Biden took office.

While the latest arrests are a success for the agency, Linscott says ICE is running out of steam as illegal immigration continues at record levels and resources are scarce, forcing agents to prioritize the arrest of the worst of the worst.

“ICE doesn’t have resources…We need resources to enforce the warrants.” So I think the biggest thing is that we’re underfunded.

The Biden administration implemented new last-minute measures to combat the continued flow of illegal crossings at the southern border.

The new restrictions, which took effect last Wednesday, prevent many migrants from applying for asylum after crossing the southern border illegally.

The restrictions are intended to deter people from showing up at the border and will only be lifted after the number of illegal crossings falls below 1,500 for seven consecutive days.

Although the executive order states that asylum applications are suspended, NBC reported that migrants will still be examined by asylum officers “but at higher standards than those currently in place.”

If migrants exceed this threshold, they will still be allowed to enter the United States to pursue “other forms of humanitarian protection,” according to the outlet.

The restrictions also do not apply to unaccompanied children, people with serious health conditions or those “fleeing imminent danger.”

It also emerged that the rules are not applied equally to migrants from more than 100 countries if they are caught crossing illegally through the San Diego area, according to an internal Border Patrol memo seen by The Post .