CHICAGO — Federal officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 364 criminal aliens and immigration violators in six Midwest states during a 30-day enforcement action, which ended Friday.
During this operation, ERO deportation officers made arrests in the following states: Illinois (134), Indiana (52), Kansas (43), Kentucky (60), Missouri (42) and Wisconsin (33). Of the 364 arrested, 187 had criminal convictions. Eighteen women and 346 men were arrested.
Aliens arrested during this operation are from the following 25 countries: Belarus (1), Bosnia-Herzegovina (1), Burma (1), Colombia (1), Czech Republic (2), Dominican Republic (1), Ecuador (2), El Salvador (2), Germany (1), Guatemala (54), Guinea (1), Haiti (1), Honduras (40), India (6), Jordan (1), Lithuania (1), Mexico (236), Moldova (1), Nicaragua (1), Nigeria (3), Peru (2), Poland (1), Romania (1), Saudi Arabia (1) and Ukraine (2).
More than half of the aliens arrested by ERO deportation officers during this operation had prior criminal histories that included convictions for the following crimes: assault, attempted murder, burglary, child neglect, child sexual exploitation, domestic violence, driving under the influence, drug possession, drug trafficking, fraud, hit and run, identity theft, illegal re-entry after deportation, indecent liberty with a minor, money laundering, obstructing justice, obstructing police, perjury prostitution, rape, sexual assault, theft, trespassing, and weapon offenses.
Seventy-one of those arrested were immigration fugitives; 97 others illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously deported, which is a felony. Depending on an alien’s criminality, an alien who re-enters the United States after having been previously deported commits a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.
Following are criminal summaries of six offenders arrested in the ICE Chicago area of responsibility during this operation:
- July 24: ICE arrested a 46-year-old Mexican man in Wood Dale, Illinois. He is a convicted felon for attempted murder. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal.
- July 26: ICE arrested a 27-year-old Honduran man in Independence, Missouri. Earlier this year, he was convicted of domestic assault. He also is a convicted burglar. He remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
- July 27, ICE arrested a 37-year-old Mexican man in Bardstown, Kentucky. He is a convicted felon for rape and was previously removed; he later illegally re-entered the U.S.
- July 30: ICE arrested a 25-year-old man from India in Champaign, Illinois. He was convicted of criminal sexual abuse on July 30. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal.
- Aug. 6: ICE arrested a 25-year-old Honduran man in Indianapolis. He is a convicted felon for rape. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal.
- Aug. 15: ICE arrested an 18-year-old Honduran man in Indianapolis. He is wanted in Louisiana for child rape charges. He remains in ICE custody pending his extradition to Louisiana.
- Aug. 22: ICE arrested a 26-year-old Guatemalan man in Shelbyville, Kentucky. He was arrested earlier this month for distributing child pornography. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal.
The Chicago area of responsibility includes the six states of Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin.
“This operation targeted criminal aliens, public safety threats, and individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” said Ricardo Wong, field office director for ICE ERO Chicago. “Operations like this reflect the vital work our ERO officers do every day to protect our communities, uphold public safety and protect the integrity of our immigration laws. We will continue to devote the full efforts of our agency to protecting citizens and enforcing federal immigration law. Communities are safer today because of the hard work done by the men and women of ERO.”
All of the targets in this operation were amenable to arrest and removal under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.
ICE deportation officers carry out targeted enforcement operations daily nationwide as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to protect the nation, uphold public safety, and protect the integrity of our immigration laws and border controls.
These operations involve existing and established Fugitive Operations Teams.
During targeted enforcement operations, ICE officers frequently encounter other aliens illegally present in the United States. These aliens are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and, when appropriate, they are arrested by ICE officers.
Source: ICE.GOV