WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 131 people described by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as gang-affiliated in less than a week, from October 4 to October 10, DHS said in a statement released on October 20 and reported by Fox News Digital. Of those, 129 arrests were by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and two were by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

DHS said 22 of those arrested were affiliates of MS-13 and 13 were affiliates of Tren de Aragua (TDA). Since President Donald Trump returned to office on January 20, 2025, ICE has made 12,018 gang-related administrative arrests — yaani more than 12 thousand — including 1,965 MS-13 affiliates and 1,553 TDA affiliates, according to DHS figures.

"In less than a week, the brave patriots of ICE have arrested more than 100 gang members across the country, including members of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the statement. He said arresting and deporting gang members is how the administration makes America safe again.

Among the cases DHS named were Gustavo Adolfo Flores-Ramirez, a Salvadoran national DHS identifies as an MS-13 member, arrested in Las Vegas and wanted in El Salvador on allegations including aggravated homicide and aggravated femicide; Jose Luis Perez-Arrias, a Venezuelan national DHS identifies as a Tren de Aragua member, arrested in Tallahassee, Florida, whom DHS describes as an alleged suspected hitman; and Emerson Jossiel Calderon-Hernandez, a Salvadoran national DHS describes as a suspected MS-13 member, arrested in Washington, D.C. These are DHS allegations and identifications, not convictions established in this announcement.

DHS did not publish a complete public breakdown of all 131 arrests by location, immigration status or criminal history. A gang-affiliated designation is an agency classification and does not by itself establish that a person committed a crime; individual cases proceed through immigration and, where applicable, criminal processes.

Sources: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement / Department of Homeland Security statement, October 20, 2026; Fox News Digital reporting syndicated October 17-19, 2026; INUS News summary of the DHS statement.