Thread: 596 immigrants convicted of crimes nabbed in South

596 immigrants convicted of crimes nabbed in South

By GREG BLUESTEIN
Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA -- Federal agents say they arrested 596 immigrants with criminal records during a three-day immigration enforcement sweep across the Southeast in their biggest operation yet.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Friday the three-day operation - dubbed Operation Cross Check - was the largest sweep the agency has ever conducted targeting foreign nationals convicted of crimes. They said the immigrants have already served their sentences and that authorities will now seek to deport them.

Atlanta ICE Field Director Felicia Skinner says that "communities around the Southeast are safer than they were before" as a result of the operation. She said three of the people arrested this week were convicted of murder and 144 were convicted on assault charges.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/30/1 ... z0mbXC9R7j

Good sweep for the southest. Nice job!

I.C.E. News Release

April 30, 2010

596 criminal aliens arrested in targeted ICE operation throughout the southeastern U.S.

Operation Cross Check yields the largest-ever number of arrests

WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its law enforcement partners arrested 596 foreign nationals with criminal records during a three-day enforcement surge throughout the southeastern United States, making it the biggest operation targeting at-large criminal aliens ever carried out by ICE in the region.

During the operation, which concluded late last night, ICE officers and agents worked in teams with the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and local law enforcement agencies in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton cited the operation – which involved nearly 400 federal and local law enforcement officers and agents – as another example of ICE's focus on indentifying and removing criminal aliens from the United States.

"We are a compassionate nation with a proud history of immigration," said Morton. "But we are also a nation governed by laws specifically designed to protect its 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 results of this week's operation demonstrate ICE's commitment to that principle."

Arrests in Florida and Puerto Rico accounted for the largest number of apprehensions during the operation where a total of 258 aliens were taken into custody. The Atlanta Field Office recorded the next highest number of arrests with 232. The arrestees, 544 men and 55 women, represent 60 different nations, including countries in Latin America, Asia, Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Because of their serious criminal histories and prior immigration arrest records, at least 12 of those arrested during the enforcement surge face federal prosecution. A conviction for felony reentry carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Some of the worst of the offenders caught this week during Operation Cross Check include the following case examples:

•Oriel Bernard McCarthy, of Jamaica, was arrested Tuesday by the Atlanta Fugitive Operation Team in Jonesboro, Georgia. McCarthy was recently arrested for aggravated assault and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime. McCarthy's criminal history includes convictions and arrests in four states, including New York, South Carolina, Maryland and Georgia for crimes including felony forgery, stalking, criminal domestic violence, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and manufacture, aggravated assault, sexual abuse and forcible contact, possession of stolen property, and robbery. He was ordered removed by an immigration judge on October 21, 2009 in New York City.
•Jose Oscar Avalo-Molina, of El Salvador, was arrested Wednesday by the Miami Fugitive Operations Team in Pembroke Park, Florida. Avalo-Molina's criminal convictions include first degree murder for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. On Feb. 28, 1991, he was ordered removed to El Salvador by an Immigration Judge. Avalo-Molina was removed on Aug. 13, 1997 and subsequently illegally re-entered. This case has been accepted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for prosecution for the crime of re-entry after deportation.

Any of the foreign nationals arrested during this operation who have active warrants will be referred to the associated local law enforcement agency and ICE will place detainers to ensure they return to ICE custody following disposition of their criminal cases. Those who have outstanding orders of deportation, or who returned to the United States illegally after being deported, are subject to immediate removal from the country. The remaining individuals are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge, or pending travel arrangements for removal in the near future.

This week's special enforcement action was spearheaded by ICE's Fugitive Operations Program, which is responsible for locating, arresting, and removing at large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives — aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation handed down by the nation's immigration courts. ICE's Fugitive Operations Teams give top priority to cases involving aliens who pose a threat to national security and public safety, including members of transnational street gangs and child sex offenders. This week's operation focused on the apprehension of criminal aliens, which are not necessarily fugitives.

The officers who conducted this week's special operation received substantial assistance from ICE's Fugitive Operations Support Center (FOSC) located in South Burlington, Vt. The FOSC conducted exhaustive database checks on the targeted cases to help ensure the viability of the leads and accuracy of the criminal histories. The FOSC was established in 2006 to improve the integrity of the data available on at large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives nationwide. Since its inception, the FOSC has forwarded more than 550,000 case leads to ICE enforcement personnel in the field.

This week's enforcement operation is just one facet of the Department of Homeland Security's broader strategy to heighten the federal government's effectiveness at identifying and removing dangerous criminal aliens from the United States. As a result of this strategy, ICE removed a total of 136,126 criminal aliens from the United States last year, a record number.

For more photos from Operation Cross Check, visit the ICE media gallery.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE comprises four integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.

Last Modified: Friday, April 30, 2010
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1004/100430washingtondc.htm

596 criminal aliens arrested in targeted ICE operation throughout the southeastern U.S.

I like the headline of the I.C.E. News Release better than the one on the article

they could probably get that much just in texas

Why does it take years of investigation to arrest 596 criminal immigrants? This needs to happen every day.

Dang, and I thought they were just coming here to work

RELATED

Immigration `ICE POLICE' sweep South Florida

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-197116.html

4:37 p.m. Friday, April 30, 2010 Text size:
232 immigrant criminals off Georgia streets
By Alexis Stevens



Following a three-day sweep across the southeast, 232 immigrants with criminal records have been arrested in Georgia, according to U.S. immigration officials.

."Operation Cross Check" was the largest operation of its kind, netting 596 total arrests in the Southeast, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

Many of those were arrested in northwest Georgia, according to numbers obtained by the AJC. Nineteen people were arrested in Rome, along with five in Cartersville and three in Dalton.

Cumming led the metro Atlanta area with 17 arrests and 14 people were arrested in Decatur. Other arrest totals by city include:

Columbus: 7
Fayetteville: 5
Jonesboro: 6
Marietta: 4
Newnan: 4
Warner Robins: 9
The arrested represent 60 different nations, including countries in Latin America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, officials said.

One of those arrested Tuesday was Oriel Bernard McCarthy, of Jamaica, who was recently arrested for aggravated assault and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime. McCarthy was arrested in Jonesboro, and his criminal history includes convictions and arrests in four states, including New York, South Carolina, Maryland and Georgia, officials said.

McCarthy's crimes have included felony forgery, stalking, criminal domestic violence, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and manufacture, aggravated assault, sexual abuse and forcible contact, possession of stolen property, and robbery. He was ordered removed by an immigration judge on Oct. 21 in New York City.

Those specifically targeted included at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives — aliens who have ignored final court-ordered deportation. Three people arrested this week were convicted of murder, according to the Atlanta ICE field director.

ICE officers and agents worked with the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and local law enforcement agencies in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.


http://www.ajc.com/news/232-immigrant-c ... news_81960

Immigration agents arrest 21 people in Charlotte area
Credit: ICE.gov

by RAD BERKY / NewsChannel 36
E-mail Rad: RBerky@WCNC.com
Posted on April 30, 2010 at 11:55 AM
Updated today at 1:04 PM


CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement have arrested nearly two-dozen aliens in the Charlotte area who are suspected of having committed serious crimes.

It is part of a sweep across the Southeast by ICE agents, which netted nearly 600 arrests of aliens from the Mississippi River to Puerto Rico.

Agents said some of the people arrested were in the country legally.
In Charlotte, there were two arrests, 17 in Hickory and two more in Statesville.

The head of ICE, John Morton, said those arrested in the raids this week had committed crimes including murder, sex offenses, burglary and fraud.
Morton said, "These are not the kind of people we want walking our streets."
Those arrested will either be prosecuted or deported to their home countries.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Immigrat ... 07714.html