70 arrested in the Dallas and Oklahoma areas during 3-day ICE operation targeting criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and immigration fugitives

DALLAS — Federal officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 70 criminal aliens and others throughout the Dallas and Oklahoma areas during a three-day enforcement action which ended June 3. Those arrested are from the following countries: Cuba (1), Guatemala (1), El Salvador (3), Korea (1), Mexico (62), Zimbabwe (1) and Sri Lanka (1).

Of all those arrested, six were females and 64 were males ranging in age between 18 and 50 years old.

Following are summaries of the worst offenders arrested by the Dallas ERO officers during this operation:

• A 34-year-old Mexican national, convicted of resisting arrest and search for transporting a deadly weapon, was arrested June 1, 2017 in Paris, Texas, by the Dallas Mobile Criminal Alien Team and Fugitive Operations Team. He is currently in ICE custody pending his removal.
• A 40-year-old Mexican national, convicted of possession of a controlled substance and driving while intoxicated, was arrested June 2, 2017, by ERO officers in Sherman, Texas. He is currently in ICE custody pending his removal.
• A 27-year-old Mexican national, convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and previously removed, was arrested June 3, 2017, by ERO officers in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He is currently in ICE custody pending his removal.
• A 28-year-old Mexican national, convicted of possession of controlled substance and a member of the Eastside Homeboys criminal street gang, was arrested June 2, 2017, by the Dallas Mobile Criminal Alien Team and Fugitive Operations Team. He is currently in ICE custody pending his removal.
• Any alien who enters, attempts to enter, or is found in the United States after being removed, commits a felony punishable by up to two years in federal prison, if convicted; 10 years if previously convicted of three or more drug misdemeanors, or crimes against a person misdemeanors, or for a felony offense; and 20 years if for previously convicted for an aggravated felony.

“ICE ERO officers make extraordinary efforts to keep our communities safe, and this operation is just a small example of what they do every day. ERO officers took oaths to protect the homeland and to arrest individuals in violation of immigration law,” said Simona L. Flores, field office director for ERO Dallas. “These actions focus our resources on the most egregious offenders and promote public safety in the communities in which we live and work.”

The aliens arrested during this operation who have outstanding orders of removal, or who illegally re-entered the United States after being deported, are subject to immediate deportation after they complete any standing prison sentences imposed after their criminal convictions. Other aliens arrested during this operation were entered into removal proceedings, or are currently pending travel arrangements for removal in the future.

The ERO Fugitive Operations Teams in Dallas and Oklahoma are part of the nationwide teams that focus on aliens who pose a serious threat to national security or public safety, including members of transnational street gangs, child sex offenders and aliens with prior convictions for violent crimes. The enforcement operations conducted by the ERO Dallas and Oklahoma Fugitive Operations Teams are 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.

In fiscal year 2016, ICE conducted 240,255 removals nationwide. Ninety-two percent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.

For more information, visit: www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.