DHS Announces Arrests of Violent Criminal Aliens Across New Jersey, Utah, California, and Texas

DHS issued a 'Make America Safe Again' press release on March 31 announcing the arrest of multiple undocumented individuals with violent criminal records. Named cases included Carlos Capurro (Peruvian national, Essex County, NJ — convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13), Martin Feliciano Barragan-Rojas (Mexican national, Hurricane, UT — convicted of aggravated kidnapping and assault), Sergio Javier Portillo-Perez (Salvadoran national, Fairfield, CA — assault with a deadly weapon), Francisco Velardo-Vasquez (Mexican national, Van Nuys, CA — assault with a firearm), and Shawn Kaleffe Graham (Jamaican national, Galveston County, TX — robbery). The press release was part of a consistent DHS communications strategy of publicizing criminal enforcement actions as Congress debated ICE accountability legislation tied to the DHS partial shutdown.