63 Fugitive, Other Aliens Arrested in Oklahoma
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in cooperation with local police, arrested 63 fugitive aliens and other immigration violators in Oklahoma City and in six surrounding towns last week, an ICE news release announced. A number of those arrested had criminal convictions that included voluntary manslaughter, possessing and distributing controlled substances, grand larceny, extortion, assault, burglary, larceny and drunken driving. The arrestees were from El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Ghana, Guatemala and Honduras.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. ICE now has 95 Fugitive Operations Teams working across the country which have made more than 30,000 arrests nationwide this year, including over 23,000 fugitives. The regional ICE office based in Dallas was responsible for 1,493 of these arrests. Commenting on the latest operation, Nuria Prendes, director of the Dallas regional office, said "If you ignore a judge's order of removal, ICE will find you, arrest you, and you will be returned to your home country." The ICE operation comes on the heels of an announcement by Rep. John Sullivan (R-Okla.) that a permanent ICE office will be opened in Tulsa to go after fugitive aliens and those with criminal records.