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The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a Cuban citizen with a criminal record in Pennsylvania as part of national operations aimed at detaining and deporting "criminal illegal immigrants" who pose a public safety threat, according to officials.
Alexander García Peñate, an undocumented immigrant from Cuba, was arrested last Thursday, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which announced the capture that day of multiple foreign criminals across the country, including individuals convicted of murder, sexual assault against minors, aggravated assault, and other serious crimes.
García Peñate had a prior conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Mercer County, Pennsylvania.
The DHS noted that the arrests took place on the first anniversary of the reopening of the Office for Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) of ICE. This entity focuses on "assisting victims of immigration-related crimes and their families by providing them with the resources and support they need," the official statement assured.
In this regard, the acting Undersecretary of National Security, Lauren Bis, highlighted the recent arrest of "repugnant criminals, including murderers, pedophiles, and sexual deviants," and emphasized that illegal immigrants "do not have the right to be in our country."
"Iillegal immigration is not a crime without victims," emphasized Bis, while warning that the Trump administration will continue "fighting for justice for the victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants."
The arrest of García Peñate in Pennsylvania adds to recent detentions of nationals from the island in several states across the U.S. At the beginning of April, ICE in Newark arrested Cuban Michel Proenza Martínez as he was leaving a federal prison in New Jersey, with a final order of deportation and a criminal record including federal robbery under the Hobbs Act, burglary, vehicle theft, and drug-related offenses.
During the Easter weekend, ICE also arrested three Cubans in Florida: Reinier Fuentes Armentero, in Palm Beach, convicted on four counts of possession of child sexual exploitation material; Yordan Carreras Céspedes, in Sarasota, for vehicle theft; and Israel Serrano Aguilera, in Miami, with a history of aggravated harassment.
Since the beginning of the second term of Donald Trump in January 2025, ICE has arrested more than 300,000 undocumented immigrants and, according to the DHS, around 70% are convicts or face criminal charges.
However, a recent study by the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley indicates that there has been a drastic turn in immigration policy: the detention of immigrants with no prior records has increased by 770% during the first year of the current administration, while street arrests surged by over 1,000%.
The arrests of undocumented Cuban immigrants by ICE have also intensified in the past year. Additionally, deportations of nationals from the island have reached record levels, with 1,901 since January 2025, and a total of 5,286 expelled during both terms of Trump.
The government of Cuba has started to accept back Cubans with criminal records in the United States, which has accelerated the pace of deportations.
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