ICE's third massive operation ahead of the presidential election leads to the arrest of more than 100 undocumented immigrants with deportation orders
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Wednesday the arrests of more than 100 undocumented immigrants who were sought for their removal from the country.
Acting ICE director Tony H. Pham said that under Operation Granite, 70 per cent percent of the individuals arrested were either convicted of crimes or had pending criminal charges.
The recent operation, from October 19 to October 23, had ICE agents deployed across the states of Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas and Texas, searching for immigrants who unlawfully entered the United States and were living between the northern and southwest borders.
'Every day, ICE officers protect our communities from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten public safety,' Pham said. 'These targeted enforcement actions highlight ICE's vital role in keeping our communities safe.'
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested more than 400 undocumented immigrants who were wanted by the agency for removal from the United States. Pictured above is an individual apprehended in Los Angeles during the first phase of Operation Rise from September 28 to October 2.
Among those arrested by ICE agents was a 47-year-old man from Romania on October 22 in Cambridge Minnesota. He was convicted in July 2009 of domestic abuse by a court in Anoka County. The man's second brush with the law came in October 2016 when Dodge County apprehended him for assault, second degree-dangerous weapon and terroristic threats-reckless disregard.
The agency place a detainer with the sheriff's office, but he was released. The Anoka County District Court convicted him in 2017 of assault in the second degree. His deportation to Romania is pending.
Pham slammed local governments and law enforcement departments in sanctuary cities for failing to comply with ICE policies.
'When local officials refuse to cooperate by simply transferring over criminal aliens over in the safe confines of a jail, ICE must go into the community and search for these individuals,' Pham said. 'There are times preventable tragic results occur based on these non-cooperative policies. Too often a simple phone call to ICE would have prevented a crime.'
FBI agent Carlos Wolff and Deputy State Fire Marshal Sander Cohen were killed after they were struck by a car driven by Roberto Garza, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, on December 8, 2017, in Germantown, Pennsylvania.
Cohen was on the shoulder lane helping out Wolff, whose vehicle had broken down, when Garza, who was 28-year-old at the time of the incident, allegedly swerved in an attempt not to hit them.
Garza was ticketed for negligent driving and fined $280 and was not charged after prosecutors found there was not enough evidence to find him culpable. In 2015, Garza received a citation for reckless driving.
ICE agents gather during Operation Rise in California, which resulted in the arrest of 128 undocumented immigrants, from September 28 to October 2, who in the past were released from local or state law enforcement custody but had immigration detainers that called for their removal from the United States
Previous operations launched by ICE since the end of September have led to the arrests of 300 individuals wanted for removal.
Operation Rise targeted California and resulted in the apprehensions of 128 undocumented immigrants from September 28 to October 2. The federal immigration enforcement agency reported that 95% of the individuals arrested had been either convicted of previous crimes or had 'pending criminal charges'.
In the second widespread sting, agents arrested 172 individuals from October 3 through October 9 in Washington, D.C., Las Vegas , Seattle, Denver, Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York, where immigrants are shielded by local governments who don't comply with ICE policies.