Trump administration conducts several raids focusing on ‘criminal aliens’ during the first weekend

Over the weekend, officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with their partners, carried out countrywide operations, detaining over 1,200 undocumented immigrants who had been charged or convicted of committing offenses on U.S. soil.

In a series of photos shared by ICE Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) from coast to coast, agents can be seen taking handcuffed suspects away.

In Atlanta, a city positioned more than 1,000 miles away from the U.S.-Mexico border, but drawn into the center of the immigration discussion following a brutal daylight killing of a college student by an undocumented individual, the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) collaborated with the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Homeland Security Investigations to apprehend “criminal aliens” and ready them for deportation flights.

Riley, a 21-year-old Georgia nursing student, was brutally killed at random while jogging in Athens, about 75 miles east of Atlanta, by a Venezuelan illegal with suspected ties to the Tren de Aragua gang. 

Jose Ibarra, 26, was convicted of 10 counts in November and sentenced to life without parole. He had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and received border parole, freeing him to travel within the country.

A suspected criminal alien is processed by ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents. (ERO Atlanta)

He racked up criminal charges in New York City, where authorities released him before ICE could lodge a detainer. He then made his way to Georgia, where he attacked and murdered Riley.  

“Removing criminal aliens from our communities isn’t just enforcement — it’s protection,” HSI’s Atlanta office said in a statement over the weekend as part of the deportation sweep. “Ensuring the safety and security of our neighborhoods starts with upholding the law.”

Fox News’ Heather Lacy contributed to this report.