Immigration officers arrested 22 criminal aliens during a six-week targeted operation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The arrests included a fugitive alleged murderer from Mexico and a previously deported child molester.
Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a six-week long targeted enforcement operation that ended on May 16. During the operation, officers arrested 22 criminal aliens, some with violent histories including robbery and sexual offenses against children, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from ICE officials.
ICE officials reported information about three of the arrested criminal aliens:
- On April 24, a 24-year-old man from Mexico, wanted by the Mexican government for attempted homicide in Zacatecas, Mexico, was arrested in Tulsa. After being deported to Mexico in August 2016, he allegedly attempted a homicide in Zacatecas, Mexico, in September 2016. He fled Mexico by illegally re-entering the United States. He is currently awaiting removal to Mexico.
- On April 10, a 34-year-old previously deported man from Mexico was arrested in Tulsa. He was last deported in 2011 following his conviction for criminal sexual conduct involving a child. He illegally re-entered the United States. On May 1, 2017, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Oklahoma indicted him for illegally re-entering the United States after being deported.
- On May 10, a 42-year-old man from Mexico was arrested in Stilwell, Oklahoma. He has felony convictions for conspiracy to commit robbery, reckless discharge of a firearm, child endangerment, and possessing a controlled drug.
“The operations that our ERO officers conduct on a daily basis to identify, locate and arrest criminal aliens have a significant positive impact on public safety in Tulsa and in communities nationwide,” ICE ERO Dallas Field Office Director Simona L. Flores said in a written statement. “Some of the criminals we encounter have fled to the United States to hide from their crimes in their home countries.” The Dallas Field Office includes the state of Oklahoma in its area of responsibility.
ERO officials reminded the public that illegal aliens who re-enter the U.S. after being removed face additional criminal charges. “Any alien who enters, attempts to enter, or is found in the United States after being removed commits a felony punishable by up to two years in federal prison, if convicted; 10 years if previously convicted of three or more drug misdemeanors, or crimes against a person misdemeanors, or for a felony offense; and 20 years if for previously convicted for an aggravated felony,” ICE officials stated.
Other aliens arrested with outstanding orders of removal from an immigration judge are subject to immediate removal. Others arrested are being processed for removal proceedings, or are currently pending travel arrangements in accordance with policies and directives.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, arrests of criminal aliens by ICE increased by 40 percent over the same period the year before. Between January 22 and April 29, officers arrested 41,318 individuals known or suspected of being in the United States illegally, Breitbart Texas reported.
ICE officials reported that nearly 75 percent of those arrested during the 100-day period are convicted criminals. Many had charges or convictions that include homicide, assault, sexual abuse, and drug-related offenses.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.