Thread: Federal agents arrest immigrant sex offenders living in North Texas

September 13, 2012

By Kevin Krause
Dallas News

State police and federal immigration agents have arrested 24 men from across North Texas during a five-day effort to remove convicted sex offenders and other criminals from the streets and from the U.S.

Many of the offenders were living here illegally, authorities said.

Statewide, a total of 50 men were arrested as part of the roundup, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which made the arrests with help from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The initiative, called Sex Offender Alien Removal or SOAR, targeted immigrants who have committed sex crimes, particularly against children. Federal authorities call it the first statewide operation of its kind.

The operation began Saturday and ended on Wednesday. Most of the North Texas arrests were made in Dallas. Men were also arrested in Mesquite, Garland, Plano, Waxahachie and Fort Worth.

Of those arrested, 47 are convicted felons. A total of 40 were convicted of sex crimes. One man living in Houston had a murder conviction. Fifteen of those arrested in North Texas had committed sex crimes, federal authorities said.

Some of the men from North Texas also had committed drug possession, drunken driving, immigrant smuggling and aggravated robbery. Seven of them had re-entered the U.S. illegally after previously being deported. Doing so is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

“DPS is proud to have worked together with ICE in this successful operation to target and apprehend ruthless criminals who prey on Texans,” said Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw. “These types of coordinated efforts between law enforcement agencies at all levels are critical to protecting our communities and keeping criminals off our streets.”

Of those arrested in North Texas, 19 are from Mexico. Others are from Laos, Nicaragua, Sudan and Vietnam.

ICE released the following profiles of three men who were arrested:

–A 44-year-old man from Mexico was arrested by ERO officers Sept. 8 in Dallas. He had been convicted in 1989 in California of unlawful intercourse with a minor and sentenced to 365 days confinement and 60 months’ probation. After completing his prison sentence, he was deported and illegally re-entered the United States. He was again deported in November 1999, and is again being processed for deportation.

–A 46-year-old man from Mexico was arrested by ERO officers Sept. 8 in Dallas, Texas. He had served six years in prison following his 1996 conviction in Houston, Texas, for indecency with a child – sexual contact. He was deported in 1999 and again in 2003. He faces charges of failing to register as a sex offender, and will be deported again after he completes any criminal proceedings against him.

–A 46-year-old man from Mexico was arrested by ERO officers Sept. 9 in Caddo Mills, Texas. He was convicted in March 2006 in Dallas County, Texas, for aggravated sexual assault of a child, and was sentenced to 10 years confinement, probated for 10 years. As an alien convicted of an aggravated felony, he is eligible for deportation.

Federal agents arrest immigrant sex offenders living in North Texas | Crime Blog

IC E arrests 50 convicted of crimes in Texas

NOMAAN MERCHANT, Associated Press
Updated 11:45 a.m., Thursday, September 13, 2012

DALLAS (AP) — An operation to remove sex offenders or people from other countries with felony convictions has led to the arrest of 50 immigrants across Texas, federal authorities said Thursday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas said in a news release that the arrests included 40 men convicted of sex crimes including aggravated sexual assault of a child and sexual battery of a minor. Others were convicted of offenses ranging from alien smuggling and evading arrest to possessing marijuana and aggravated robbery.

The 50 men arrested were a mix of legal and illegal immigrants, and about half were from North Texas, ICE said. Their names were not immediately released. The statewide operation ran for five days, ending Wednesday.

ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok told The Associated Press that the men are being held at different jails throughout the state.

Eleven of them have been deported before and illegally re-entered the U.S., Rusnok said. Others were released from prison after serving their sentences but their legal statuses weren't immediately identified, he said, while some might have been detained without local law enforcement contacting immigration authorities.

Rusnok said ICE's Secure Communities program was among changes made to identify immigrants charged with crimes. Secure Communities allows local law enforcement to run someone's fingerprints after an arrest to check immigration status. The program has drawn criticism from some immigrant rights groups.

Legal immigrants can be removed from the country if they are found guilty of certain serious crimes.

Simona Flores, field office director for ICE's enforcement and removal operations division, told the AP that ICE wanted to ensure immigrants convicted of felonies were identified for removal from the country as early as possible.

"Our goal is to identify them before they are released, whether it's from local custody or coming out of federal prison," she said.
Flores said she was reaching out to other federal and local law enforcement on ways to work together.

"We are focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement," she said. "Specifically, we're targeting serious criminals."

ICE arrests 50 convicted of crimes in Texas - SFGate

I.C.E.News Release

September 13, 2012
Dallas, TX

ICE teams throughout Texas arrest 50 convicted sex offenders and other criminal aliens during 5-day Operation 'SOAR'

Of those arrested statewide, 24 were arrested in north Texas

DALLAS – Following a five-day Texas-wide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation, 50 convicted alien sex offenders and other criminal aliens were arrested by officers with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) also assisted with this operation. Twenty four of those arrests occurred in the north Texas area.

The goal of this operation, dubbed "SOAR" (Sex Offender Alien Removal), was to identify, locate and arrest aliens who have convictions for sex crimes, especially sex crimes against children. This is the first statewide operation that specifically targeted this criminal element. This operation was coordinated with ERO's 16 Fugitive Operations Teams throughout Texas, and Texas DPS. Four Fugitive Operations Teams operated from Dallas and north Texas.

ERO's Operation SOAR began Saturday and ended Sept. 12.

"This operation was specifically designed to target and arrest criminal aliens who have been convicted of sex crimes," said Simona L. Flores, field office director for ERO Dallas. "By removing these criminal aliens from our streets and our country, we immediately improve public safety in these communities." Flores oversees 128 counties in north Texas and the state of Oklahoma.

"DPS is proud to have worked together with ICE in this successful operation to target and apprehend ruthless criminals who prey on Texans," said Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw. "These types of coordinated efforts between law enforcement agencies at all levels are critical to protecting our communities and keeping criminals off our streets."

Of the 50 men arrested throughout Texas, 47 had felony convictions, and 40 had convictions for sex crimes. One criminal alien residing in Houston had been convicted of murder.

Of the 24 men arrested in north Texas, 15 had prior convictions for sex crimes such as: indecency with a child, sexual conduct; unlawful sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child; sex offense against a child, fondling; and sexual battery of a minor. Other previous criminal convictions of those arrested in north Texas also include the following: possessing marijuana, evading arrest, drunken driving, alien smuggling, and aggravated robbery.

Seven of those arrested in north Texas had been previously removed from the country and illegally re-entered the United States, which is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.

All those arrested during operation SOAR in north Texas include men from the following countries: Mexico (19), Sudan (2), Laos (1), Nicaragua (1), and Vietnam (1). Those arrests occurred in the following communities: Dallas (11), Cleburne (3), Amarillo (2), Caddo Mills (1), Fort Worth (1), Garland (1), Lubbock (1), Mesquite (1), Perryton (1), Plano (1) and Waxahachie (1).

Following are criminal summaries of three men arrested in north Texas during this operation:

• A 44-year-old man from Mexico was arrested by ERO officers Sept. 8 in Dallas. He had been convicted in 1989 in California of unlawful intercourse with a minor and sentenced to 365 days confinement and 60 months' probation. After completing his prison sentence, he was deported and illegally re-entered the United States. He was again deported in November 1999, and is again being processed for deportation.
• A 46-year-old man from Mexico was arrested by ERO officers Sept. 8 in Dallas, Texas. He had served six years in prison following his 1996 conviction in Houston, Texas, for indecency with a child – sexual contact. He was deported in 1999 and again in 2003. He faces charges of failing to register as a sex offender, and will be deported again after he completes any criminal proceedings against him.
• A 46-year-old man from Mexico was arrested by ERO officers Sept. 9 in Caddo Mills, Texas. He was convicted in March 2006 in Dallas County, Texas, for aggravated sexual assault of a child, and was sentenced to 10 years confinement, probated for 10 years. As an alien convicted of an aggravated felony, he is eligible for deportation.

These arrests were coordinated with ICE's National Fugitive Operations Program, which is responsible for investigating, locating, arresting and removing at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives – aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation handed down by federal 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.

ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ICE also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.

Note to Editors: HD video and still images of this operation may be downloaded from the following website, after completing a brief registration process: http://dvidshub.net/r/jmpydh

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

ICE is 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 or complete our tip form.

• U.S. Dept of Homeland Security

ICE teams throughout Texas arrest 50 convicted sex offenders and other criminal aliens during 5-day Operation 'SOAR'

RAW VIDEO: ICE & DPS Illegal Immigrant Sex Offender Sweep

Illegal alien charged with raping 10-year-old boy in Texas

• Illegal Alien Crime
• September 14, 2012
• By: Dave Gibson

Bernardo Mondragon-Guzman
Credits: booking photo

On Wednesday, police in Garland arrested Bernardo Mondragon-Guzman, 41, for the alleged repeated sexual abuse of a 10-year-old boy. The rapes reportedly went on for more than a year.

"The sexual abuse started in the summer when the victim was 9 years old," according to the arrest report.

An affidavit also states that Guzman "…keeps baby wipes in the glove compartment and naked pictures under the back floor board carpet of the car" and "one time Guzman used his phone to make a video of the sexual act."

The sexual assaults reportedly took place in the victim's bedroom and inside Guzman's home and car.

Guzman works as a coach for the Garland Soccer Association which apparently is how he gained access to the child. Police are concerned that there may be more victims.

Garland police spokesman Joe Harn told News 8: "From our investigation, our fear is there are other victims out there."
Guzman has been charged with the continuous sexual assault of a child and is currently being held in the Dallas County Jail on an immigration detainer.

Garland police urge any other victims or anyone with further information about Guzman to contact Det. Galvan at 972-205-2082.

Read about more about the rash of crimes against children being committed by illegal aliens:

Illegal alien charged with child rape in South Carolina
Illegal alien charged with repeated child sexual abuse in Michigan
Illegal alien charged with molesting 7-year-old girl in New Jersey
Illegal alien charged with sexual assault of 4-year-old Colorado girl

source: Illegal alien charged with raping 10-year-old boy in Texas - National Immigration Reform | Examiner.com