Thread: ICE agents make arrests in Woburn, eight other communities

ICE agents make arrests in Woburn, eight other communities



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GateHouse News Service
Posted Aug 14, 2012 @ 04:22 PM
Woburn, MA —

Woburn was among nine communities where federal U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 39 convicted criminal aliens late last week.

The three –day "Threats Against the Community" operation started Tuesday, Aug. 7. Officials said all 39 taken into custody had prior criminal convictions, including 35 aliens who had multiple criminal convictions. Additionally, 20 of those arrested had felony convictions.

The agency did not provide the names or offenses of those arrested in Woburn.

Many of the criminal aliens taken into custody had prior convictions for serious or violent crimes including: assault; assault and battery; assault with a dangerous weapon; assault and battery on a police officer; sexual assault; possessing and selling dangerous drugs; and drunken driving. One of the individuals arrested during this operation was a convicted sex offender.

"The results of this targeted enforcement operation underscore ICE's ongoing commitment to public safety," said Dorothy Herrera-Niles, field office director of ICE ERO Boston. "When we focus on the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens we get an immediate payback in our communities. Because of the tireless efforts and teamwork of ICE officers — along with our state and local law enforcement partners — there are 39 fewer criminal aliens in our neighborhoods in Massachusetts."

The Revere Police Department headquarters served as the field command center during the operation. Besides Woburn, arrests took place in Boston, Chelsea, East Boston, Everett, Lynn, New Bedford, Revere and Somerville. The Boston, Lynn and Revere Police Departments — along with the Suffolk and Plymouth County Sheriff's Office — assisted more than 40 ICE ERO officers with these arrests.

Of those arrested, there were 37 men and 2 women. The 39 are nationals of the following countries: four from Brazil, two from Cape Verde, one from Colombia, six from the Dominican Republic, six from El Salvador, three from Guatemala, five from Honduras, one from Iraq, one from Jamaica, one from Lebanon, one from Liberia, four from Mexico, two from Peru, one from Portugal and one from Sudan. They range in age from 18 to 52.

All 39 were administratively arrested for being in violation of U.S. immigration law. Thirty-six are being held in ICE custody pending immigration removal proceedings or removal from the United States; and two are presently in the custody of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with an immigration detainer hold. One was released on an order of supervision.

Some of those arrested during this operation include:

A national of El Salvador who was convicted of the following crimes: assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and trespassing. This individual has 24 adult arraignments.

A national of El Salvador who was convicted of the following crimes: assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, threatening, resisting arrest and assault.

A national of Cape Verde who was convicted of the following crimes: carrying a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, shoplifting, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest and knowingly receiving stolen property.

A national of the Dominican Republic who was convicted of the following crimes: assault and battery on a police officer (twice), assault with a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest.

A national of Mexico who was convicted of assault and two charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

A national of El Salvador who was convicted of two charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

"This operation, and our daily targeting of aliens with criminal convictions, are some of the many tools that ICE uses to effectively reduce crime at the street level in communities throughout New England" added Herrera-Niles.

This is the third "Threats Against the Community" operation in the Boston-area. The first occurred in November 2011 and the second in April 2012.

This enforcement action was spearheaded by ICE's National Criminal Alien Program, which is responsible for locating, arresting and removing at-large criminal aliens. The officers who conducted the operation received substantial assistance from ICE's Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) located in Williston, Vt.

Largely as a result of these initiatives, for three years in a row, ICE has removed more aliens than were removed in fiscal year 2008.

Overall, in FY 2011 ICE ERO removed 396,906 individuals nationwide — the largest number in the agency's history. Of these, nearly 55 percent or 216,698 of the people removed were convicted of felonies or misdemeanors — an 89 percent increase in the removal of criminals since FY 2008. This includes 1,119 aliens convicted of homicide; 5,848 aliens convicted of sexual offenses; 44,653 aliens convicted of drug related crimes; and 35,927 aliens convicted of driving under the influence. ICE achieved similar results with regard to other categories prioritized for removal. Ninety percent of all ICE's removals fell into a priority category and more than two-thirds of the other removals in 2011 were either recent border crossers or repeat immigration violators.

ICE agents make arrests in Woburn, eight other communities - Woburn, MA - Woburn Advocate

ICE arrests illegal immigrants in three-day blitz

By Brad Petrishen/Daily News staff

The MetroWest Daily News
Posted Aug 14, 2012 @ 05:41 PM

BOSTON —
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 39 illegal immigrants convicted of crimes in the Boston area during a three-day operation last week.

In conjunction with state and local police, ICE arrested convicted criminals in Boston, Woburn, Somerville, New Bedford, Revere, Everett and Chelsea, according to an ICE release.

Of the 37 men and two women arrested, 35 had multiple criminal convictions, and 20 of those arrested had been convicted of felonies. Convictions included sexual assault, drug dealing, drunken driving, assault and battery on a police officer and assault and battery, ICE said.

“The results of this targeted enforcement operation underscore ICE’s ongoing commitment to public safety,” Dorothy Herrera-Niles, field office director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division in Boston, said in the release. “When we focus on the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens we get an immediate payback in our communities.”

The Boston, Lynne and Revere police departments, along with the Suffolk and Plymouth sheriffs offices, helped more than 40 ICE officers make the arrests.

Those arrested range in age from 18 to 52, and are nationals of the following countries: four from Brazil, two from Cape Verde, one from Colombia, six from the Dominican Republic, six from El Salvador, three from Guatemala, five from Honduras, one from Iraq, one from Jamaica, one from Lebanon, one from Liberia, four from Mexico, two from Peru, one from Portugal and one from Sudan.

All 39 were arrested for being in violation of U.S. immigration law, and 36 are being held in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. Two are being detained by the state, the release said, while one was released on an order of supervision.

This is the third “Threats Against the Community” operation in the Boston area. The first was done in November 2011, while the second took place in April of this year.

The operation was spearheaded by ICE's National Criminal Alien Program, which is responsible for locating, arresting and removing at-large criminal aliens, according to the release.

“Largely as a result of these initiatives, for three years in a row, ICE has removed more aliens than were removed in fiscal year 2008,” the release says.

In fiscal 2011, ICE said it removed 396,906 people nationwide, the largest number in its history. Of those, 55 percent were convicted of felonies or misdemeanors, an 89 percent increase in criminal removals since fiscal 2008.

The fiscal 2011 arrestees, the government said, included 1,119 illegal immigrants convicted of homicide, 5,848 convicted of sexual offenses, 44,653 convicted of drug-related crimes and 35,927 convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

ICE arrests illegal immigrants in three-day blitz - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News