ICE arrests 19 in Minnesota after three-day operation
Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams arrested 19 near Bloomington, Minn. after a three-day initiative. Those arrested are a combination of illegal aliens and illegals that absconded after being ordered to leave the country.
ICE officials arrested 10 illegal aliens in Madelia, five in St. James, two in Windom and one each in Butterfield and Lewisville. Four of those arrested have been previously deported.
Of the 19 illegal aliens arrested, five had previous criminal convictions. Crimes include burglary, providing fake information to the police, drunken driving, passing bad checks and driving without insurance. A sixth is facing charges for first- and second-degree assault.
"ICE is committed to protecting the integrity of our legal immigration system by ensuring that deportation orders handed down by federal immigration judges are carried out," said field officer director of the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Bloomington Scott Baniecke in an ICE press release. "The United States welcomes law-abiding immigrants. However, ICE will use all our resources to find foreign nationals who violate our laws and commit crimes in our communities, and send them home."
During the government’s fiscal year that ended September 30, the Bloomington field office had arrested more than 1,000 illegal aliens in a five-state area. Of those arrested, 209 had prior criminal convictions in addition to their administrative immigration violations.
The ICE website has more on this story.