An Indian-origin man accused of various crimes, including the sexual assault of a minor, has been arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He has been identified as Vodela Yashaswi Kottapalli and accused of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, shoplifting and public disorder in New Jersey, reported The Times of India.
In a post on X, ICE said, "Vodela Yashaswi Kottapalli, a criminal illegal alien from India, has pending charges for sexual assault and larceny in New Jersey. We'll keep him in custody pending removal proceedings."
However, the agency did not disclose other details, including the date of arrest or the alleged offences committed by Kottapalli.
—SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD UNDER 13
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) February 16, 2026
—SHOPLIFTING
—PUBLIC DISORDER
Vodela Yashaswi Kottapalli, a criminal illegal alien from India, has pending charges for sexual assault and larceny in New Jersey.
We’ll keep him in custody pending removal proceedings. pic.twitter.com/VM97e9KUD9
ICE raids in the US
Under the Trump regime 2.0, ICE has continued to crack down on unauthorised immigrants. In December, they arrested an Indian truck driver linked to a deadly highway accident in Oregon that killed two American citizens. According to statistics from the Indian government, over 3,800 Indians were deported from the United States in 2025 under President Trump's anti-immigration policy.
The United States Department of Homeland Security has developed a list of 25,000 "criminal illegal aliens", which includes murderers, sex offenders and drug traffickers arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection agents before they were convicted of the crimes. Among them, up to 89 people of Indian origin figure in the list of "Worst of the Worst" criminals, reported NDTV.
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Tackling illegal immigration
Trump had promised to tackle the problem of illegal immigration during his election campaign. He began his second term with several executive orders on immigration policy. On his first day in office, he signed several orders that declared a "national emergency" on the southern border of the United States, pledged to deploy more troops to the border, and threatened to deport "criminal aliens".
But immigration enforcement operations in several states have sometimes become violent. This has stirred up strong reactions from Democrats and an increasing number of Republicans.
