Trump Administration's WOW Program Expands Public Safety Sweep
ICE arrested five criminal illegal aliens convicted of violent crimes and drug trafficking across five states, intensifying clashes with sanctuary jurisdictions over federal enforcement priorities.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested five criminal illegal aliens on June 25, pulling individuals convicted of lewd acts with minors, assault with deadly weapons, and cocaine trafficking from five separate states. The arrests underscore a federal enforcement campaign that sanctuary jurisdictions continue to obstruct. Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated: "If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will REMOVE you from our nation."
The Trump administration's "Worst of the Worst" enforcement program aims to remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens from U.S. communities, even as sanctuary policies and progressive resistance complicate federal law enforcement priorities. Federal agents apprehended Luis Arturo Cuellar from El Salvador in Santa Ana, California, convicted of lewd acts with a child under 14. They arrested Edwin Hernan Cruz-Macias from Mexico in Las Vegas, Nevada, convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and coercion with threat of force. Victor Daniel Muniz-Garcia from Mexico was convicted for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and vehicle prowling/malicious mischief in Vancouver, Washington. Somsack Khamhaeng from Laos was convicted for possession of a firearm by a felon and drug possession in North Carolina. Jorge Munoz-Zaldivar from Mexico was convicted for felony possession of drugs and felony resisting arrest in Ohio.
The administration launched its WOW transparency program on December 8, 2025, with wow.dhs.gov featuring 10,000 profiles of arrested criminal illegal aliens. The site later grew to over 25,000 profiles by February 2026. Former DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the website "allows every American to see for themselves the criminal illegal aliens that we are arresting, what crimes they committed, and what communities we removed them from. This is all about transparency and showing results."
DHS states nearly 70 percent of ICE arrests involve criminal aliens charged or convicted of crimes. Independent analyses dispute this framing. UCLA's June 2 study found the "worst of the worst" share of ICE arrests fell from 28 percent under President Biden to 12 percent under President Trump. Cato Institute data from November 2025 shows 5 percent of ICE detainees had violent criminal convictions, while 73 percent had no criminal convictions at all. TRAC reported April 4 that 70.8 percent of ICE detainees have no criminal conviction.
Sanctuary policies create a gap between federal enforcement priorities and local cooperation. A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit against Los Angeles' sanctuary city policy on June 22 but allowed an amended complaint. Minneapolis adopted ICE-free zone policies in early December 2025 and suspended ICE operations following the January killings of protesters Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. California holds 33,179 criminal illegal aliens with active ICE detainers in its custody, yet released 4,561 since January 20 despite federal requests for transfer.
"Governor Newsom and his fellow California sanctuary politicians are releasing murderers, pedophiles, and drug traffickers from their jails back into our neighborhoods and putting American lives at risk," Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said February 5. She accused Illinois Governor Pritzker on May 1 of releasing "a pedophile from jail back into our communities."
DHS reports a 1,300 percent increase in assaults against ICE officers and 8,000 percent increase in death threats since 2024. The administration responded with mask mandates for agents, citing safety concerns. The Department of Homeland Security reports 10 assaults occurred in the first half of 2024 compared to 79 in 2025, correlating with a five-fold expansion in enforcement operations from approximately 6,000 to over 30,000 federal agents. The institute noted 2025 was the second-safest year for ICE and CBP agents since 2003.
The debate over immigration enforcement pits federal public safety priorities against local sanctuary policies. The June 25 arrests demonstrate the administration's continued focus on criminal illegal aliens even as political and legal resistance continues. A Harvard Harris poll from December 2025 found 69 percent of Americans support deporting criminal illegal aliens, suggesting public alignment with federal enforcement priorities over sanctuary protections.
ICE arrests increased from about 9,300 monthly under Biden to over 27,800 under Trump, representing a 200 percent expansion. The administration's executive order on January 20, 2025, broadly expanded interior enforcement priorities beyond the previous focus on serious criminals. FactCheck.org analysis from January 28 found 36.5 percent of ICE arrestees had convictions, 29.8 percent had pending charges, and about one-third had neither.
More than 200 cities and counties and at least a dozen states maintain some form of sanctuary policy, while approximately 19 jurisdictions have adopted ICE-free zone policies specifically. Houston reversed its sanctuary ordinance in April after Texas applied political pressure. New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport sued GEO Group, operator of the Delaney Hall detention center, on June 2, demanding full health inspection access to the facility.
White House Border Czar Tom Homan threatened June 8 to send "more ICE agents than you've ever seen" to New York City. He defended mask mandates February 15, stating, "I don't like the masks, either, but because threats against ICE officers are up over 1,500 percent, actual assaults and threats are up over 8,000 percent, these men and women have to protect themselves."
The Justice Department prosecuted individuals targeting ICE officers, including Eduardo Aguilar of Dallas, accused of posting TikTok videos soliciting murder of agents, and Alan Filion, sentenced to 48 months for 375 swatting and doxxing calls. An FBI internal bulletin warned about masked agents operating without identification, raising civil liberties concerns.
Paul Ong, director of UCLA's Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, stated June 2 that "the data shows that ICE shifted its priorities away from the most dangerous individuals and increasingly focused on immigrants who pose no public safety threat." David Bier, Cato Institute immigration studies director, noted January 28 that "they have removed the prioritization that was in place under the Biden administration to go after those violent criminals that they're highlighting."
ICE held 60,311 detainees as of April 4. The agency operates 24 field offices nationwide. The Trump administration's Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis ended February 12, when Homan announced the drawdown of federal agents following the January shootings of protesters Renée Good and Alex Pretti that had sparked widespread protests. Houston-area enforcement resulted in 277 criminal alien arrests over two weeks in April, including 17 child predators, six murderers, 16 drug traffickers, 15 gang members, and 67 robbers.
Families in communities from Santa Ana to Las Vegas await the consequences of a national debate that refuses to settle. Federal agents continue making arrests while sanctuary jurisdictions push back, leaving ordinary Americans to wonder who will keep their neighborhoods safe.