CaliToday (13/11/2025): U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has apprehended one of El Salvador's most dangerous fugitives, an undocumented immigrant identified as a key member of the 18th Street Gang, a transnational criminal organization recently designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. government.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the arrest of Antonio Israel Lazo-Quintanilla on November 10. According to DHS, Lazo-Quintanilla was on his home country's "most wanted" list, facing a slew of felony charges including organized homicide, extortion, and drug trafficking.
The arrest highlights the administration's intensified crackdown on transnational gangs. In September, the U.S. State Department designated the 18th Street Gang as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The designation followed the gang's repeated attacks on civilians, officials, and security forces in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.
"We Are Targeting the Worst of the Worst"
DHS officials are pointing to the arrest as definitive proof of ICE's mission to protect public safety.
"This arrest is a perfect example of ICE targeting the most dangerous criminals," said Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. McLaughlin pushed back against criticism that the agency is not focused on high-priority targets.
"This criminal may not have a U.S. conviction, but he is an obvious and severe threat to public safety," she stated. "The left-wing media narrative that ICE isn’t catching the 'worst of the worst' is factually false. We are arresting criminal immigrants before they can harm Americans."
DHS data asserts that 70% of immigrants arrested by ICE already have criminal convictions or charges in the United States. This figure does not include "thousands of gang members, war criminals, terrorists, and international human rights violators" who, like Lazo-Quintanilla, may not have a prior U.S. record.
This apprehension is part of a broader, sustained effort under the Trump administration. On August 13, ICE deported an 18th Street Gang leader wanted for a string of murders in Honduras. In June, the U.S. Secret Service announced indictments for eight members of the gang in New York on charges of drug trafficking, brutal assaults, and extortion.
Political Backlash and "Unprecedented" Threats
Despite these high-profile arrests, the administration's immigration enforcement agencies face intense political and legal opposition.
On October 17, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and other Democrats demanded that ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in Chicago be required to wear body-worn cameras during enforcement operations, citing "human rights concerns." A day later, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a court order mandating the policy across the Northern District of Illinois.
DHS has forcefully rebuked this narrative.
"Mainstream media outlets continue to distort the facts, painting criminal immigrants as 'innocent people,'" a DHS statement read. "Many of them, despite having no U.S. record, are gang members, terrorists, or war criminals."
The department also revealed a chilling statistic: threats and violence aimed at ICE agents have surged by over 8,000% in the past year.
"Our agents are being hunted, bounties are being placed on their heads, their families are being threatened, and they are being harassed online," said McLaughlin. "This is an unprecedented level of danger for those protecting our borders and the American people."
Analysts note that the Trump administration is aggressively refocusing ICE and DHS on their original mission protecting the homeland from international criminal elements despite the fierce political and media headwinds.