The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on May 13 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked Dallas officials not to release Luis Benitez-Gonzalez, an illegal alien from Mexico, accused of two murders in Texas. Benitez-Gonzalez was arrested on April 27 on aggravated assault charges, and DHS said DNA evidence later linked him to the murders of two women in separate Texas counties, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Benitez-Gonzalez had previously been removed to Mexico in 2020 before unlawfully re-entering the United States. ICE lodged a detainer after his arrest, asking Dallas officials to keep him in custody so the agency could assume custody for removal proceedings, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Texas Department of Public Safety records show that from June 2011 through April 2026, more than 335,000 illegal noncitizens were booked into local Texas jails and faced more than 599,000 criminal charges, including homicide charges, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
DHS said ICE has taken enforcement action against criminal illegal aliens charged with or convicted of crimes, including murder, assault, sexual offenses, and drug-related crimes. The agency said those enforcement actions are part of efforts to prioritize public safety cases, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal agency under the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is responsible for immigration enforcement, including identifying, arresting, detaining, and removing people who are unlawfully present in the United States, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
