ICE says it arrested five named noncitizens with serious criminal convictions

True

Evidence from credible sources supports the statement as accurate. Learn more in Methodology.

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enforcement

Law enforcement or court records, booking logs, or ICE arrest records confirm arrests of the named individuals and their stated convictions, dated Jan 14, 2026.

Source summary
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested multiple individuals it labeled “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens, including people convicted of child rape, murder, and battery by strangulation. The release names five arrestees, lists their alleged crimes, nationalities, and locations, and quotes a DHS spokesperson saying 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of crimes. The statement also says federal officers face a reported more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them.
Latest fact check

The Department of Homeland Security’s official press release dated January 15, 2026 states that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "announced the arrest of more worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" and specifies that "yesterday’s arrests" included five named noncitizens: Yefferson Pineda-De Velasquez, Santiago Villa-Yanez, Ernst Joachim, Desmond Woodburn, and Fariborz Arzani, each with listed criminal convictions. Because the release date is January 15 and it repeatedly refers to the arrests as having occurred "yesterday," the announcement clearly pertains to arrests made on January 14, 2026. The phrase "worst of the worst" is used in the headline and body to describe the criminal noncitizens whose arrests are being announced, and the press release explicitly lists the convictions associated with each of the five individuals.

The verdict is True because an official DHS/ICE press release confirms that on January 15, 2026 ICE announced arrests that took place on January 14, 2026, describing the five named noncitizens as among the "worst of the worst" and listing their convictions as quoted in the claim.

Timeline

  1. Update · Jan 16, 2026, 03:02 AMTrue
    The Department of Homeland Security’s official press release dated January 15, 2026 states that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "announced the arrest of more worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" and specifies that "yesterday’s arrests" included five named noncitizens: Yefferson Pineda-De Velasquez, Santiago Villa-Yanez, Ernst Joachim, Desmond Woodburn, and Fariborz Arzani, each with listed criminal convictions. Because the release date is January 15 and it repeatedly refers to the arrests as having occurred "yesterday," the announcement clearly pertains to arrests made on January 14, 2026. The phrase "worst of the worst" is used in the headline and body to describe the criminal noncitizens whose arrests are being announced, and the press release explicitly lists the convictions associated with each of the five individuals. The verdict is True because an official DHS/ICE press release confirms that on January 15, 2026 ICE announced arrests that took place on January 14, 2026, describing the five named noncitizens as among the "worst of the worst" and listing their convictions as quoted in the claim.
  2. Original article · Jan 15, 2026

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