ICE arrests 58 individuals in NYC area operation

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agency recently arrested 58 individuals in an operation targeting undocumented migrants and other enforcement priorities in the New York metropolitan area.

All of those arrested fell under outlines set forth by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson’s 2014 immigration memorandum.

“Law enforcement operations like this underscore that ICE is committed to putting public safety first,” Raymond Simonse, acting field officer director for ERO New York, said. “Our nation has a proud history of immigration, but we are also a nation governed by laws specifically designed to protect our citizens and residents. Those who come to the United States to prey upon our neighbors and communities will be prosecuted for their crimes and ultimately returned to their home countries.”

The five-day operation targeted those who had previous criminal convictions, in addition to other individuals who fell under the agency’s enforcement priorities.

Among those arrested were a 32-year-old Ecuadorian with a criminal record that included sexual abuse and family neglect, a 51-year-old Salvadoran man with convictions for DUI and 3rd-degree rape, a 35-year-old Mexican man with two sexual battery convictions, and a 38-year-old Dominican man who had a previous conviction for cocaine trafficking.

Citizens of 17 different countries were arrested in the operation, including those from Belize, St. Vincent, Guyana, Philippines, Jamaica, Indonesia, Guatemala, Lebanon, Colombia, Israel, Romania and the United Kingdom.