ICE Arrests 384 Illegal Aliens in Multi-State Area
ICE arrested 384 fugitive aliens and immigration violators in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware during an enforcement operation that ran from October 14-26. 272 of the total were fugitive aliens, including 125 with criminal histories. Fugitive aliens are illegal aliens who fail to show up for their immigration hearings, or who disappear after a judge orders them to leave the country. 112 other immigration violators were also arrested during the operation; about half had criminal histories. The immigration violators were charged with being illegally in the United States and held pending a hearing before an immigration judge.
Criminal histories of the arrestees included convictions for sexual assault, assault, burglary, robbery, bail jumping, criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a weapon, DUI, DWI, resisting arrest, and trademark counterfeiting. The following are examples of the criminals ICE arrested during the operation:
- A Bangladeshi national who overstayed his visitor visa and had several drug related convictions;
- An Ecuadorian national who served time in prison for petty larceny, criminal mischief and for possession and attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance;
- A Jamaican national who served nine months in jail for felony transportation of Marijuana;
- A Mexican national who had been previously arrested on multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct;
- An Argentinean national who had been previously charged with sexual assault;
- A Guatemalan national who is a member of the Vatos Locos criminal street gang;
- A Nigerian national who had convictions for aggravated assault and disorderly conduct; and
- A Belarusian national who had 3 arrests for DUI and one for retail theft.
Commenting on the operation, Scott Weber, the New Jersey field office director for the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations said "The removal of fugitive aliens, especially those with a criminal history and those who pose a threat to national security and community safety, including members of transnational street gangs, child sex offenders, and aliens with prior convictions for violent crimes is a top ICE priority."
Read the related ICE news release.