Veteran ICE agents arrest sex offenders, criminals the day before Veterans Day

EXCLUSIVE: On Veterans Day, the Department of Homeland Security honored the thousands of veterans who went from defending the United States in uniform to protecting the nation’s borders and communities.

“DHS honors the patriotism and heroism of Americans who have served our country and continue to protect our homeland and freedoms by arresting the worst of the worst criminals across the United States,” a department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin added that more than 7,500 veterans serve as ICE agents — a job in which videos and news reports from recent months show equally dangerous situations and confrontations with armed civilian adversaries and violent protesters.

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Albert Miguel Quinones-Quinones, captured by ICE in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, is seen in this photo. (Courtesy: ICE)

“Just yesterday, ICE arrested pedophiles, rapists and other violent criminals. We are eternally grateful to all Americans who have courageously served (and) protected our freedoms. We are only the land of the free because of the brave.”

Veterans-turned-ICE agents have participated in several Veterans Day vigil operations targeting sex offenders and child predators in locations from Pennsylvania’s coal country to the Utah desert.

The ICE Philadelphia office arrested Colombian national Albert Quinones-Quinones in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania on Monday.

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Jesus Hernandez-Hernandez, arrested by ICE in Western New York, is seen in this photo (Courtesy: ICE)

Residents of Pottsville – known nationally for being home to America’s oldest brewery; Yuengling; and a once-booming coal industry — are safer now that Quinones-Quinones is no longer available on the street, DHS said.

The illegal immigrant was previously convicted of sexual assault in a local court and has a longer criminal history, according to the agency.

To the north, ICE in Buffalo, New York, arrested Delbes De Jesus Hernandez-Vargas of the Dominican Republic. He was previously convicted of rape in Bronx County, New York.

Also in the Bronx, ICE arrested Luis Castillo-Flores, 45, another Dominican national with a violent criminal record.

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ICE agents converge on Illinois home (Christopher Dilts/Getty Images)

In Utah, ICE agents arrested Guatemalan national Juan Guerra-Ubaldo on Monday. The 61-year-old man was previously arrested for sexually abusing a minor in neighboring Washington County.

Also in the West, Jesus Hernandez-Hernandez was captured by federal agents in Texas, where he had previously been convicted of sexually assaulting a child under 14.