SPRING, Texas – An enforcement operation involving the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a Spring residence Wednesday resulted in the arrest of a man with a history of prior deportations, according to federal officials.
The operation unfolded in the 22000 block of Saint Winfred Drive in the Chancel subdivision.
Neighbors told KPRC 2’s Re’chelle Turner that ICE agents arrived at the home around 8 a.m. and repeatedly used loud horns and other devices in an attempt to get someone inside to come out. They said no one initially responded and that agents remained at the home until about 11 a.m.
In a statement to KPRC 2, ICE identified the man as Jorge Erick Lopez De La Pena, a Mexican national. The agency said he was arrested during a targeted enforcement operation.
According to ICE, Lopez De La Pena entered the United States in November 2009 on a B-2 tourist visa and remained in the country after his authorized stay expired. ICE said it first encountered him in the Harris County Jail in 2011. An immigration judge ordered his removal in January 2012, and he was removed from the United States the following month.
ICE said he later reentered the country without authorization in 2012 and was removed again in August 2020 after being arrested by the agency. Federal officials said he again returned to the United States without authorization.
ICE also said Lopez De La Pena has prior convictions for assault causing bodily injury to a family member and interfering with an emergency request for assistance.
The agency said he remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has not released additional details about the operation.
The arrest comes one day after an ICE enforcement operation in Houston turned deadly when an ICE agent fatally shot a man during an attempted arrest.
That shooting remains under investigation.