Thread: ICE arrest nearly 300 foreigners with criminal records, CA.

Immigration agents arrest nearly 300 foreigners with criminal records during three-day sweep

December 11, 2009 | 10:40 am

Immigration agents arrested more than 286 foreigners with criminal records during a three-day sweep in California, officials announced today.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement head John Morton said the operation was the largest of its kind and resulted in the arrests of illegal immigrants convicted of robbery, assault and rape.

About 96 of the arrests took place in Los Angeles County and included people from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Among those arrested in the county were a suspected gang member from El Salvador who had a 2004 robbery conviction and a Guatemalan man with a 1993 conviction for lewd acts with a child under 14.

"These are not the kind of people we want walking our streets," Morton said.

The arrests were conducted as part of a controversial program designed to arrest and deport immigrants who have criminal records, who have ignored deportation orders or who have been deported and illegally reentered the United States. About 400 officers and agents took part in the operation, which ended late Thursday night.

Critics have said the program, which started in 2003 and has rapidly expanded since then, has created fear in immigrant communities by sending armed agents into neighborhoods and pulling parents away from their children.


In addition, immigration agents often arrested people without criminal records to fill quotas, according to a report by the Migration Policy Institute earlier this year.

During a visit to Los Angeles over the summer, Morton announced that he would end the quotas.

More than 35,000 people were arrested nationwide by fugitive operations teams in fiscal year 2009, according to ICE. Of those, nearly 89% either had criminal records or outstanding deportation orders.

In Los Angeles, there were 3,039 arrests, including 1,466 criminals. Of those arrested, 247 – or 8% -- did not have criminal records or outstanding deportation orders.

Many of those arrested this week had previously been deported, officials said, and at least 17 will face further federal prosecution.

For example, Ulises Vazuiz Arucha, 37, was convicted of first-degree robbery in 2004 and deported to El Salvador in 2007. The suspected gang member was arrested in Reseda on Dec. 8.

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Related: http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-181135-ice.html

I.C.E. News Release

December 11, 2009

286 arrested in ICE's largest ever enforcement surge targeting criminal aliens

2 convicted rapists and armed robber among those captured in 3-day California operation

LOS ANGELES - Nearly 300 foreign nationals with criminal records have been removed from the United States or are facing deportation following a three-day enforcement surge in California, making it the biggest operation targeting at large criminal aliens ever carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

During the operation, which concluded late Thursday, ICE officers located and arrested a total of 286 criminal aliens statewide. More than 80 percent of the criminal aliens taken into custody had prior convictions for serious or violent crimes, such as rape by force, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Also included in the group are 30 convicted sex offenders, many whose crimes involved sexual assaults on children. Of those arrested, at least 100 have already been removed from the country.

At a news conference here Friday morning, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton announced the results of the special operation, which involved more than 400 agents and officers from ICE, the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as several other state and local agencies. Assistant Secretary Morton cited the operation as another example of the vital role multi-agency cooperation and targeted immigration enforcement play in protecting our communities.

"Enhancing public safety is at the core of ICE's mission," said Morton. "Legal immigration is an important part of our country's history and the American dream exists for many immigrants. However, that dream involves playing by the rules and those who break our criminal laws will be removed from the country. Sadly, many of the people victimized by aliens who commit crimes are other members of the immigrant community, who are following the rules."

Northern California accounted for the largest number of arrests during the operation where a total of 119 criminal aliens were taken into custody. The Los Angeles-area recorded the next highest number of arrests with 96, followed by San Diego and Imperial counties collectively with 71. The arrestees, 257 men and 29 women, represent more than 30 different nations, including countries in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Because of their serious criminal histories and prior immigration arrest records, at least 17 of those arrested during the enforcement surge will face further federal prosecution for reentering the country illegally after a formal deportation. A conviction for felony re-entry carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Among the arrestees being federally prosecuted is a previously deported Guatemalan national with ties to the Mid-city street gang whose criminal history includes a prior conviction for first degree robbery. Ulises Vazuiz Arucha, 37, was taken into custody by ICE officers Dec. 8 in Reseda, Calif. Also facing felony re-entry charges is Ignacio Camacho-Madrigal, 43, a Mexican national formerly convicted of committing a lewd act on a child under 14. Camacho-Madrigal was arrested by ICE Dec. 8 in Rialto, Calif.

The foreign nationals detained during the operation who are not being criminally prosecuted will be processed administratively for removal from the United States. 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 aliens 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 (FOTs) 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.

Last year, ICE's 104 FOTs nationwide made 35,094 arrests. More than 31,000 of those arrests, or nearly 89 percent, involved immigration fugitives and aliens with prior criminal convictions. Criminal aliens specifically accounted for approximately 45 percent of the overall total, including more than 3,600 individuals with prior convictions for violent crimes, such as murder and assault.

The officers who conducted this week's special operation received substantial assistance from ICE's Fugitive Operations Support Center (FOSC) located in South Burlington, Vermont. 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 150,000 case leads to ICE enforcement personnel in the field.

ICE's Fugitive Operations Program 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. Other initiatives that figure prominently in this effort are the Criminal Alien Program, Secure Communities and the agency's partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies under 287(g).

Largely as a result of these initiatives, ICE removed a total of 136,126 criminal aliens from the United States last year, a record number.

-- 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, December 11, 2009
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0912/091211losangeles.htm

Keep up the good work ICE.
dont let DHS leader stop you from your work

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Hundreds Arrested in Massive ICE Sweep

KTLA News
12:27 PM PST, December 11, 2009

LOS ANGELES -- Hundreds of people are under arrest following a massive sweep aimed at suspected illegal immigrants with criminal records.

More than 400 agents with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE) along with local law enforcement officers fanned out across California in a three day search for immigrants with criminal histories who are not supposed to be in the United States.

280 suspects with criminal records were arrested in the sweep, another six people who are under deportation orders were also arrested, according to ICE officials. 167 foreign nationals with criminal records were taken into custody in the Southern California area.

More than 80 percent of the people arrested had prior convictions for serious or violent crimes, such as rape by force, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Also among those arrested were 30 convicted sex offenders, many of whose crimes involved sexual assaults on children.

Of those arrested, at least 100 have already been removed from the country, ICE said.

At a news conference today in downtown Los Angeles, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton announced the results of the operation, which involved more than 400 agents and officers from ICE, the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as several other state and local agencies.

"If you commit crimes in this country and come back, we're going to arrest you, prosecute you, put you in federal prison -- then deport you," Morton said.

A conviction for felony re-entry carries a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison.

Of those taken into custody, the Los Angeles area recorded 96 arrests, followed by San Diego and Imperial counties collectively with 71. The arrestees mostly hail from Mexico and Central America, Morton said.

Among the arrestees being federally prosecuted is a previously deported Guatemalan national with ties to a Los Angeles street gang whose criminal history includes a prior conviction for first-degree robbery. Ulises Vazuiz Arucha, 37, was arrested by ICE officers Tuesday in Reseda.

Also facing felony re-entry charges is Ignacio Camacho-Madrigal, 43, a Mexican national formerly convicted of committing a lewd act on a child under 14. Camacho-Madrigal was arrested Tuesday in Rialto.

Other arrests took place in Glendale, West Hills, Downey, Ontario and Highland, ICE noted.

"These are people we don't want walking our streets," Morton said.

The foreign nationals detained during the operation who are not being criminally prosecuted will be processed administratively for removal from the United States, ICE said.

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 arrestees were in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge, or pending travel arrangements for removal in the near future, ICE said.

ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice says the operation is the agency's biggest such crackdown so far in local communities.
Copyright © 2009, KTLA-TV, Los Angeles

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Of those taken into custody, the Los Angeles area recorded 96 arrests, followed by San Diego and Imperial counties collectively with 71. The arrestees mostly hail from Mexico and Central America, Morton said.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-i ... 9699.story

Immigration sweep nets 280 with criminal records

By AMY TAXIN, Associated Press Writer

Friday, December 11, 2009 at 1:05 p.m.

LOS ANGELES — Immigration agents arrested 280 people in California in their biggest push yet to round up suspected illegal immigrants with criminal records, authorities said Friday.

More than 400 agents and local law enforcement officers fanned out across the state in the three-day search led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"These are not people who we want walking our streets," ICE director John Morton said. "We're going to focus on those people who choose to pursue a life of crime in the United States rather than pursue the American dream of education, hard work and success."

The operation came four months after Morton said the agency's fugitive operations teams would increasingly focus on finding people with criminal records and no longer use arrest quotas.

The agency said the teams arrested twice as many immigrants with criminal records in the 2009 fiscal year than during the year-ago period.

On Wednesday, agents wearing hooded sweat shirts and jackets emblazoned with "ICE" clustered outside a row of apartment homes in Huntington Park in the morning cold to look for a gang member who was deported to Mexico in 2007 after serving time for vehicle theft.

Agents had learned his wife was here and collecting food stamps, leading them to believe he had returned to this country illegally.

Slinging rifles across their backs, they approached the front gate. One rapped on a window and said "Police!"

Minutes later, they emerged with a 40-year old man known as "Rascal" in handcuffs and drove him to Los Angeles to be fingerprinted, photographed and either bused to Mexico or held in this country to face federal charges for illegally returning to the U.S.

ICE would not release the man's name because he did not face new criminal charges as of Friday. The man declined to be interviewed.

"As we bring these people into custody, we're also contributing to the reduction of crime in our local communities. That's really the thrust of it all," said Robert Naranjo, an assistant field office director for ICE's detention and removal operations in Los Angeles.

More than 80 percent of the people arrested this week had prior convictions for serious or violent crimes, according to ICE. Seventeen people will face federal charges for re-entering the country illegally after being deported.

The arrests carried out from Tuesday to Thursday were similar to those made in prior years by fugitive operations teams, which were created in 2003 to help reduce the number of immigrants who failed to obey deportation orders.

The latest sweep also netted six people who had deportation orders but no criminal record.

That marked a shift from several years ago, when immigrant advocates complained that ICE agents were arresting illegal immigrants who happened to be home when authorities knocked on the door looking for someone else.

There are 104 fugitive operations teams across the country. In 2006, each team was assigned to make 1,000 arrests a year. In August, Morton - who took over his post this year - said he had done away with the quotas.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009 ... l-records/

111,000 Criminal Aliens Identified by ICE in 2009

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-177810.html


34,600 Criminal Illegal Aliens IDed in Florida

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-177991.html


24,000 criminal illegal aliens IDed in AZ.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-177989.html


6,000 Criminal Illegal Aliens found in San Diego County jails

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-177988.html


Immigration officials identify more criminal undocumented immigrants in jails

Immigration officials say they’ve identified more than 8,700 criminal undocumented immigrants in the Los Angeles and Ventura County jails during the last two months.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-177905.html

I.C.E. arrest nearly 300 foreigners with criminal records

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0912/091211losangeles.htm
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-181146.html

Immigration sweep nets 280 with criminal records

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009 ... l-records/
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-181146.html

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