It’s been over two decades since the deportation orders were issued for Ivan Oramas and Santos Maradiaga-Villalta.
Back when these orders were first made, President George W. Bush was in office, and the iPhone had not yet been invented. Yet, in a remarkable move this week, both men were finally arrested.
The long delay in action comes to light as part of ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to increase enforcement on illegal immigration.
Over 50,000 Removed So Far
According to federal records reviewed by DailyMail.com, these two men are just a small part of a larger crackdown that has seen over 50,000 illegal immigrants deported.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official confirmed to DailyMail.com that the number continues to grow as federal agents work to apprehend individuals who’ve been living in the country unlawfully for years.
Two Decades of Fugitives Finally Taken In
Oramas, a 61-year-old Cuban national, has a criminal history that includes convictions for sexual battery and aggravated assault.
His case was particularly severe, with reports detailing the significant injury caused by the sexual battery.
Despite the fact that he was first ordered to be deported in October 2003, it wasn’t until this week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Houston took him into custody.
Similarly, 40-year-old Santos Maradiaga-Villalta from Honduras had been dodging deportation since January 2006, when he was ordered out for smuggling other aliens into the U.S. Maradiaga-Villalta was arrested recently by ICE in Phoenix, marking a 19-year delay in enforcement action.
Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Strategy Gaining Ground
Under President Trump, the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration has accelerated, with the deportation of long-evading criminals becoming a key focus.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem recently shared that since Trump took office, immigration authorities have apprehended over 20,000 illegal immigrants who had been living at large for years.
This represents a dramatic 627% increase in monthly arrests compared to the Biden administration’s handling of similar cases, which saw just 33,000 arrests last year.
Surge in Deportations and Border Enforcement
The Trump administration has also focused on reducing border encounters, with Noem proudly reporting a reduction from 15,000 encounters per day under President Biden to just 200 under Trump.
These efforts have brought the number of daily border encounters to a 15-year low.
Additionally, a number of criminals, like Guatemalan national Alexis Aquirre-Velasquez, have been caught in this sweep.
Aquirre-Velasquez, who was ordered to leave the U.S. in 2013 after being convicted of indecent liberty with a child, had been living in the U.S. unlawfully for more than a decade.
Trump’s Pledge for the Largest Deportation Effort
The president has made clear his commitment to removing the “most dangerous” unlawful immigrants from the country.
His administration is aiming to carry out what would be the largest deportation effort in U.S. history.
In the first two weeks of Trump’s latest term, more than 6,000 migrants were already deported, with some being sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The location is expected to hold up to 30,000 detained individuals, including suspected terrorists, as the capacity of U.S. ICE facilities becomes stretched.
ICE Leadership Shake-Up Amidst Efforts
Along with these deportation efforts, there has been a shake-up in leadership within ICE.
Caleb Vitello, the former acting director of ICE, was reassigned earlier this month after deportation efforts fell short of expectations.
A senior Trump official explained that Vitello’s reassignment would have him overseeing all field and enforcement operations, focusing on the apprehension and deportation of illegal aliens.
This marks the third senior ICE official to be removed from their post in the same month.