EXCLUSIVE: On Veterans Day, the Department of Homeland Security honored the thousands of veterans who have transitioned from defending the U.S. in uniform to safeguarding the nation’s borders and communities.

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

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin added that there are more than 7,500 veterans serving as ICE agents – a job where videos and reports in recent months show similarly dangerous situations and confrontations with armed civilian adversaries and violent protesters.

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

Veterans-turned-ICE agents took part in several Veterans Day eve operations targeting sex offenders and child predators across locations ranging from Pennsylvania’s Coal Region to the Utah desert. 

On Monday, ICE’s Philadelphia office arrested Columbian national Albert Quinones-Quinones in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

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Residents in 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 off the street, DHS said.

The illegal immigrant has a prior sexual assault conviction in local court and 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 has a prior conviction in Bronx County, New York for rape.

Also in The Bronx, ICE corralled Luis Castillo-Flores, 45, another Dominican national with a violent prior rap sheet.

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In Utah, ICE agents took Guatemalan national Juan Guerra-Ubaldo into custody Monday. The 61-year-old had been previously arrested for sexually abusing a minor in nearby Washington County.

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