Over 300 immigrants, including six Indians, have been arrested for various alleged crimes and violation of immigration laws during a 30-day enforcement action undertaken by U.S. authorities. The crackdown ended on Aug. 31, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
A total of 364 criminal foreigners and immigration violators were arrested from six states by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers, the agency said. These states and the number of arrests made there are: Illinois (134), Indiana (52), Kansas (43), Kentucky (60), Missouri (42) and Wisconsin (33).
As many as 187 of them have previous criminal convictions, ICE said. Their prior criminal histories included conviction for crimes like assault, attempted murder, burglary, child neglect, child sexual exploitation, domestic violence, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, rape, sexual assault, theft, trespassing, and weapon offenses, among others.
A 25-year-old man from India, arrested in Champaign, Illinois, was convicted of criminal sexual abuse on July 30. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal.
ICE took to Twitter to announce these arrests and the completion of the 30-day enforcement action.
ICE arrests 364 criminal aliens and immigration violators in 30-day enforcement surge in 6 Midwestern states https://t.co/0trqgAU6jr pic.twitter.com/7gdvoWIT4R
— ICE (@ICEgov) August 31, 2018
The persons arrested during this month-long operation hail from from 25 countries, ICE said in a statement. Six of those arrested are from India. The maximum number of people arrested come from Mexico (236), followed by Guatemala (54). Among those detained, 18 are women while the other 346 are men.
Among the detained persons, 71 are immigration fugitives while 97 others allegedly illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously deported, which is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.
“This operation targeted criminal aliens, public safety threats, and individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” Ricardo Wong, field office director for ICE ERO Chicago, said.
All the targets in this operation were amenable to arrest and removal under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, as per ICE.
On Aug. 27, U.S. Border Patrol agents in California arrested 19 immigrants for allegedly entering the United States illegally by boat from Mexico. Among these detainees, two were Indian nationals.
In the second week of August, 45 illegal immigrants were arrested in the Houston area for alleged violation of immigration laws under Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Border Patrol agents had also apprehended 78 foreigners, who were found inside a locked refrigerated trailer in Texas, on Aug.11. Officials had then confirmed that Indian nationals were among the detainees of both the operations.