A list of the “Worst of the Worst” criminal illegal aliens detained on Tuesday across the United States, provided to The Tennessee Star by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), includes a citizen of Mexico who was arrested in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Among the five criminal illegal aliens included in the “Worst of the Worst” list for Tuesday is Margarito Rosales-Altamira, who DHS described as “a criminal illegal alien from Mexico” with prior convictions “for opium or derivatives and cocaine sale” in Lebanon.
“Just yesterday, ICE arrested pedophiles, drug dealers, arsonists, and other public safety threats to our communities,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin in a statement provided to The Star.
Mullin stated, “The brave men and women of ICE are risking their lives every day to deliver on President Trump’s promise to make America safe again by arresting and deporting criminal illegal aliens who shouldn’t have been here in the first place. America is no longer a safe haven for illegal aliens.”
While Mullin indicated Rosales-Altamira was arrested on Tuesday, reports show that ICE has additionally conducted at least two major operations in Lebanon this year, resulting in the arrests of at least 23 suspected illegal aliens by federal law enforcement.
In July, a week-long ICE operation in East Tennessee resulted in nearly 120 arrests of illegal aliens, while a joint operation between ICE and Tennessee Highway Patrol in Nashville resulted in almost 200 last year.
Earlier this year, a state report revealed there were more than 11,000 arrests or convictions of illegal aliens in Tennessee in 2025.
Last week, ICE confirmed a Public Safety Coordination Center will soon open in Nashville. The call center is expected to field up to 7,000 each day, and will operate seven days per week, with employees scheduled into eight-hour shifts. It will assist local and state authorities who sign agreements to perform certain federal immigration enforcement tasks.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photos (left to right) “Richard Hugh Hoppin, Jose Gabriel Mis-Catzim (center), Margarito Rosales-Altamira, Yovani Moreno-Gachuz, and Alejandro Bravo-Adasme” by DHS.
