The Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 175 illegal immigrants with violent criminal records in a recent sweep across five states, the Washington Examiner reported on Monday.
Those nabbed included alleged MS-13 gang members wanted for murder and other suspects linked to child sex crimes.
"This operation was focused on fugitives and criminal aliens," said Patrick Contreras of the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Houston, where 97 were arrested. "Public safety remains a top priority for ICE. This was a focused five-day operation, but our routine operations occur daily."
Other places included in the operation were New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico.
In Florida, 73 were arrested, many suspected of sex crimes or aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The arrests come as experts have acknowledged that a Trump administration clampdown on illegal immigrants has led to an increase in those being placed in the deportation process and a decrease in those trying to enter the United States, The Washington Post reported.
It also comes after Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly recently told CNN's "State of the Union" that efforts to arrest illegal immigrants and secure the border are focused on criminals among them, and not those brought to the United States illegally as children by their parents, who have been protected since 2012.