Houston area arrests of criminal foreign nationals: targeting victims through dating apps, dragging trafficked victims as they try to escape, sexual assaults
(The Center Square) – Border crime as a daily reality is playing out in the streets of Houston and neighboring areas, which were primary destinations of illegal border crossers for years.
Arrests of violent men who are all illegally in the country continue to make local news headlines, sending shock waves through communities.
While illegal border crossings have dropped to an all-time low in the first six months of the Trump administration, local officials are arresting criminal foreign nationals for a range of sexual crimes.
In one case, three El Salvadorian men were arrested on charges of online solicitation of a minor as part of an undercover operation targeting users of a dating app. Online predators were using the app to meet underage teenagers for sex, investigators said, Fox 26 Houston reported.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged detainer requests for all three men and issued statements about their criminal history.
Carlos Murcia Gomez, 33, first illegally entered the U.S. in 2012 and was removed from the U.S. in 2020. At an unknown date, he illegally reentered the U.S. as a gotaway, those who intentionally illegally enter between ports of entry to evade capture and don’t make immigration claims with authorities. More than two million gotaways were reported under the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.
Gomez was encountered by ICE on July 17, 2025, when it lodged a detainer request with the Harris County Jail after his arrest. His criminal history includes a conviction for assaulting a family member in 2015, ICE said.
“He’s alleged to have driven off at a high rate of speed, driving recklessly, and running stop signs before striking the closed gate which hit the pedestrian,” a judge in probable cause court said, Fox 26 reported.
Erick Omar Lara Menjivar, 30, illegally entered the U.S. in 2018 near San Ysidro, California, and was arrested by Border Patrol agents and released pending immigration proceedings. A federal immigration judge dismissed his case in 2024, according to Biden administration policies, and he remained in the U.S. illegally.
Abner Martinez Ruiz, 37, also illegally entered the U.S. as a gotaway at an unknown time, date and location. He was first encountered by ICE on July 17, 2025, when it lodged a detainer request with the Harris County Jail after his arrest.
In another case, Honduran national, Jose Carcamo was arrested on aggravated kidnapping charges stemming from an investigation by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Adult Special Crimes Unit. According to the charges, he held a Chinese woman for five days in an east Houston location without food or water. While being held against her will, she was punched, tied up, sexually assaulted and locked in a closet after she tried to escape, investigators said, KRPC 2 News reported.
The news outlet also published a surveillance video of her appearing to escape, running down the street screaming and him grabbing her and allegedly carrying her back to captivity. The woman, who traveled from New York to Houston, claims she didn’t know her captor, investigators said. Her captivity is believed to be part of a larger human smuggling and trafficking ring operating in Houston, the sheriff’s office said.
ICE said Carcamo illegally entered the U.S. in May 2020, near Hidalgo, Texas, and was encountered by federal officials in November 2020 during a vehicle stop near Falfurrias. He was issued a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge, who under the Biden administration dismissed his case in September 2023. Instead of being deported, he remained in the U.S. illegally.
In Pasadena, police officers arrested Honduran national Jose Santos Maldonado-Zavala, 56, who was also charged with kidnapping; sexual assault charges are pending. ICE also lodged a detainer request in his case.
According to the charges, Zavala knew the victim, lived directly below her in the apartment complex, told her that her AC was leaking, then grabbed her, forced her into his apartment, and sexually assaulted her, authorities said. She was able to run away with the help of a friend, Click 2 Houston News reported. Zavala confessed to the crime, saying he did so “because he believed she was a ‘slow learner’ and may have had a disability,” according to the charges, the outlet reported.
“Investigators believe there may be additional victims in the area,” the Pasadena Police Department said. “If you or someone you know has had an interaction with the suspect and believe a crime may have occurred, please file a police report at the front desk of the police station or contact Detective E. Guerra at 713-475-4909 or email [email protected].”
