Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it has taken into custody more than 130 criminal aliens in and around Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. this month.
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers made the arrests during separate operations targeting foreign nationals convicted of serious or multiple criminal offenses.
In the D.C.-metro area, a five-day dragnet from July 10-14 yielded 24 arrests of criminal aliens from countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua, Ghana, Ethiopia, Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Panama. Their crimes, according to ICE, included rape of a minor, child abuse/neglect, grand larceny, and drug distribution, among other offenses.
“The men we arrested were all convicted criminals who preyed on others through theft, assault, and in one case, rape,” Yvonne Evans, field office director for ERO Washington, D.C., said in a statement. “The D.C.-metro area is now safer because these individuals are in our custody and off the streets.”
In the Los Angeles area, ICE arrested 112 criminal aliens over the past four-days, most of whom were originally from Mexico (89). Other criminal aliens arrested in the L.A.-area sweep hailed from El Salvador (7), Guatemala (5), Belize (2), Honduras (2), Vietnam (2), Egypt (1), Philippines (1), Tonga (1), the United Kingdom (1), and Azerbaijan (1).
According to ICE, of the 112 criminal aliens arrested in the LA-area, 62 had felony convictions for violent or serious offenses such as child sex crimes, weapons charges, and assault. The rest had convictions for multiple or significant misdemeanors to their names. Among those arrested, per ICE, include:
-A 64-year-old Mexican male arrested in unincorporated Riverside County near Hemet July 17 who has a 1996 conviction for attempted murder of a peace officer;
-A 46-year-old male from Tonga arrested July 17 in Rancho Cucamonga who has prior conviction for assault with a deadly weapon;
-A 37-year-old Salvadoran gang member arrested in Los Angeles July 18 who has a lengthy rap sheet, including previous convictions for burglary, attempted burglary, receiving stolen property and DUI; and a
-A 45-year-old Mexican male arrested July 19 in Los Angeles who was previously convicted of assault to commit rape and failure to register as a sex offender.
“This operation exemplifies ICE’s ongoing commitment to targeting convicted criminals and public safety threats for arrest and removal,” David Marin, deputy field office director for ERO Los Angeles, said in a statement. “By taking these individuals off our streets and ultimately removing them from the country, we’re making our communities safer for everyone.”
While ICE touted this month’s arrests, deportations have plummeted under the Obama Administration. ICE says it has focused its immigration enforcement attention on criminal aliens instead of “families.” However, the Center for Immigration Studies revealed Wednesday that the number of criminal alien removals this year is on pace to be 60 percent less than they were in 2011.
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