ICE Arrests 89 Criminal Illegal Immigrants in Texas-Oklahoma Sweep

Immigration officers arrested a total of 89 criminal aliens and others in North Texas and Oklahoma during a three-day targeted operation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers carried out a three-day operation targeting violent criminal aliens and others with existing orders of removal. The officers carried out the operation in North Texas and Oklahoma on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of last week, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from ICE officials.

Sixty-seven of the 89 arrested had criminal histories. Officials stated that those histories include: aggravated assault family strong-arm, aggravated assault of a public servant, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, alien smuggling, assault causing bodily injury, assault causes bodily injury family violence, assault, child abuse, criminal mischief, dangerous drugs, discharge of a firearm, driving while intoxicated, fraud, illegal entry, indecent lewd acts with a child under 16, larceny, liquor violation, manufacture and distribution of a controlled substance, negligent homicide, possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamines, possession of a controlled substance, racketeering, rape, robbery and making terroristic threats.

The arrested individuals came to the U.S. from Mexico (59), Guatemala (12), Honduras (8), Colombia (3), Nigeria (2), El Salvador (1), Laos (1), Nicaragua (1), Pakistan (1) and Vietnam (1).

“This North Texas and Oklahoma operation removed 67 criminal aliens from our streets and our communities,” Dallas ERO Field Office Director Simona L. Flores said in a written statement. “In addition to this valuable community service, our ICE officers also help maintain the integrity of our immigration laws.”

Flores’s staff provided the following illustrations of the types of criminals arrested during the operation:

• March 20: A 45-year-old citizen of Guatemala, was arrested at Mesquite, Texas. He was convicted of sexual assault in 1991 and was sentenced to 10 years deferred probation. He had been previously removed from the United States, and illegally re-entered, which is a felony. He will be processed for removal from the United States and presented to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for re-entry after deportation.
• March 20: A 27-year-old citizen of Vietnam was arrested at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Following his convictions for Rape 2, and two counts of indent/lewd acts with child under 16 in 2012, he was respectively sentenced to 15 years (suspended) and to 20 years (suspended) for each count. He remains in ICE custody pending an immigration hearing before a federal immigration judge.
• March 20: A 28-year-old illegal alien from Mexico and confirmed gang member was arrested at Fort Worth, Texas. He was convicted of making a terroristic threat in 2013 and was sentenced to 6 months’ probation. He remains in ICE custody pending an immigration hearing before a federal immigration judge.
• March 20: A 42-year-old citizen of Mexico was arrested at Fort Worth. He was convicted of manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance in 2012 and was sentenced to five years of in prison. He was removed in 2015, and illegal re-entered the United States illegally in 2016. He will be processed for removal from the United States and presented to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for re-entry after deportation.
• March 21: A 28-year-old citizen of Mexico was arrested at Lancaster, Texas. He is currently wanted by authorities in Hidalgo, Mexico, for homicide based on a 2009 arrest warrant. He also was convicted in Texas for driving while intoxicated. He remains in ICE custody pending an immigration hearing before a federal immigration judge.

Officers arrested 88 men and one woman ranging in ages from 19- to 60-years-old.

Last month, ERO officers carried out a similar operation targeting criminal aliens and foreign nationals with outstanding orders of removal in an operation that ran from Waco in Central Texas to the Rio Grande Valley, Breitbart Texas reported. That operation led to the arrest of nearly 150 criminal aliens, previously deported illegal aliens, and immigrants who are subject to deportations.

Of those arrested, 86 had previous criminal convictions; 39 had previous immigration violations including four with pending criminal charges; 20 with no previous immigration history; and one with pending criminal charges, officials stated. Officers arrested 135 men and 10 women during the seven-day operation that ended on February 16. They ranged in age from 18 to 62.