ICE Busts 70 Criminal Aliens in Texas, Oklahoma Operation

ICE Arrests in Nort Texas - 4-4-17
Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Video Screenshot

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers arrested 70 criminal aliens in north Texas and southern Oklahoma during a three-day effort.

Three of the worst offenders were arrested in Texas, information obtained by Breitbart Texas from ICE officials revealed.

A 28-year-old member of the Eastside Homeboys street gang was arrested on June 2 by the Dallas Mobile Criminal Alien Team and Fugitive Operations Team. The Mexican national is in ICE custody pending removal. He had been convicted of possession of a controlled substance.

A Mexican national was arrested on June 1 in Paris, Texas. The same mobile operations team arrested a 34-year-old previously convicted of resisting arrest and transporting a deadly weapon. He is in ICE custody and will be removed by the agency.

A 40-year-old Mexican national was arrested by ERO officers on June 2 in Sherman, Texas. He had been convicted of possession of a controlled substance and driving while intoxicated.

The majority of those arrested, 62 in number, were Mexican nationals. Three of the criminal aliens arrested were from El Salvador  and one each from Cuba, Guatemala, Korea, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka.

Six arrested were women. The remainder were males ranging in age from 18 to 50.

In Oklahoma City, on June 3, ERO officers arrested a 27-year-old Mexican citizen who had been convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He had been deported previously and is now in ICE custody pending removal again.

In the fiscal year 2016, 92 criminal aliens who were removed from the country had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.

In a 12-day enforcement operation by ICE officers in Texas in late March, ERO officers arrested 150 criminal aliens. Immigration officers arrested 138 men and 12 women during operations conducted in multiple cities in central and south Texas. Nearly 90 percent of those arrested had criminal records that included convictions for aggravated assault with a weapon, aggravated sexual assault of a child, sexual assault, DUI, burglary, robbery, resisting an officer, cocaine possession, prostitution, fraud, simple assault, human smuggling, domestic violence, possession of dangerous drugs, and distribution of controlled substances.

Breitbart Texas reported on April 25 that a four-day ICE operation in the Texas Gulf Coast region led to the arrest of 95 criminal aliens. The targeted operation resulted in the arrests of criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and immigration fugitives in eight counties between Houston and Victoria, Texas. Of the 95 arrested 82 of the individuals who were arrested had criminal convictions for homicide, aggravated assault, assault, burglary of a vehicle, child abuse, domestic violence, cocaine possession, fraud, driving under the influence (DUI), drug trafficking, felony marijuana possession, illegal entry, larceny, possessing a controlled substance, and weapons possession. Officers picked up the remaining immigrants for illegally being present in the U.S. after removal and those with previous orders of removal from an immigration judge who did not leave the country.

ICE officers arrested a Salvadoran national who is a member of the hyper-violent MS-13 gang and one of that country’s “Top 100” most wanted criminals. Thirty-six-year-old William Magana-Contreras is wanted for aggravated homicide in his home country of El Salvador. Magana-Contreras was arrested in Houston and ICE placed him in custody. He has prior convictions for sexual assault and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

On May 31, Breitbart Texas reported that 22 criminal aliens were arrested after a targeted six-week operation in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In the statement issued by ICE on Thursday, the agency noted that any of the illegal aliens arrested during the Oklahoma and Texas sting operations who have outstanding orders of removal, or who have illegally come back into the United States after being deported, are subject to immediate deportation after they complete any sentences imposed after their criminal convictions. Other aliens arrested during this operation will be removed after currently pending travel arrangements for removal in the future have been made. Others arrested were entered into removal proceedings.

The results of targeted actions by ERO officers successfully removed many violent criminals from our streets, some of which had been released from sanctuary jurisdictions around the country. During President Trump’s first 100 days, ICE officials reported a near 40 percent increase in the numbers of criminal aliens arrested.

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.

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