U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported 142 criminal aliens from the Houston area to Mexico between May 19 and May 30, according to the agency. Together, the individuals had illegally entered the United States a combined 480 times and were convicted of 473 criminal offenses.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Houston identified and removed several repeat offenders, including documented gang members, child predators, and individuals with extensive criminal histories. Among those deported were eight known gang members and 11 convicted child predators.

“For the past few years, there was virtually no deterrent to illegally entering the country,” said ERO Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford. “As a result, millions of illegal aliens poured into the country including violent criminal aliens, child predators, transnational gang members and foreign fugitives.”

“This is just a small snapshot of those efforts as it only focuses on deportations to one country over the course of a two-week period,” Bradford added. “But it gives you an idea of how big this problem really is.”

ICE listed several cases involving individuals with long records of criminal activity and repeated illegal entries:

• Luis Angel Garcia-Contreras, 40, a Surenos 13 gang member deported on May 29, had illegally entered the U.S. 21 times and was convicted of illegal entry four times.
• Inocencio Juan Bustamante-Rodriguez, 35, was deported May 28 after illegally entering the country 16 times and being convicted of illegal entry and illegal reentry.
• Benito Charqueno Zavala, 60, was deported May 21 and had been convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
• Cesar Daniel Lobato Perez, 24, was removed May 28 after convictions for arson, aggravated assault causing bodily injury, and DWI.
• Johnny Urbina Carillo, 37, deported on May 20, had convictions for sexually exploiting a minor, cocaine possession, and illegal reentry.
• Marco Antonio Salazar-Rojas, 25, deported May 29, had 12 prior illegal entries and convictions for human smuggling and narcotics possession.
• Jorge Arturo Silva-Solano, 35, deported May 19, had entered illegally 11 times and been convicted of aggravated assault, illegal reentry, and other offenses.
• Alejandro Aguilar Vazquez, 45, was deported May 19 after 19 illegal entries and convictions including cruelty towards a child and filing a false report.

ICE reported a wide range of criminal convictions among the deported aliens, including:

• 11 convictions for child sex crimes
• 76 for driving while intoxicated
• 43 for domestic violence or aggravated assault
• 22 for human trafficking or smuggling
• 21 weapons-related offenses
• 48 drug-related offenses
• 30 for theft or burglary
• 99 for illegal entry or reentry
• 26 for resisting or obstructing law enforcement
• Additional convictions included fraud, trespassing, organized crime, and making terroristic threats