ICE operation results in 30 illegal immigrant arrests

More Phoenix Local News

12:54 PM Mountain Standard Time on Monday, October 27, 2008

Department of Homeland Security

PHOENIX - The following is a press release from the Department of Homeland Security:

More than 30 criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators have been removed from the United States or are facing deportation today resulting from a special enforcement action carried out by an interagency task force led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Fugitive Operations Team in Phoenix.

During the operation, which concluded Saturday, ICE officers worked with partners from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to locate, identify and arrest 31 illegal aliens. Of those taken into custody, a total of 19 were immigration fugitives, aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation or who returned to the United States illegally after being removed. Six of those arrested had criminal histories in addition to being in the country illegally.

Among those taken into custody by ICE during this special enforcement operation was Carlos Solis-Morales, 38, a citizen of El Salvador previously convicted for possession of cocaine for sale.

The majority of those arrested during the operation were from Mexico, but the group also included foreign nationals from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Jordan. Since many of these individuals have already been through immigration proceedings, they are subject to immediate removal from the country.

“We want to send a strong message to those who ignore deportation orders handed down by the nation's immigration judges that ICE is going to use all of the tools and resources at its disposal to find you and send you home,â€