123 arrested in Central and South Texas during ICE operation targeting criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and immigration fugitives

SAN ANTONIO — Federal officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested a total of 123 criminal aliens and immigration violators throughout Central and South Texas during an eight-day enforcement action which ended Wednesday.

During the July 10-19 operation, ERO officers made arrests in the following Central and South Texas cities:  Austin (13), Waco (3), Harlingen (44), Laredo (27) and San Antonio (36).  Of those arrested, 115 were men; eight were women.

All the aliens targeted by ERO officers during this enforcement action had prior criminal convictions. The majority of those arrested, 93, had criminal histories that included convictions for the following crimes:  aggravated assault, assault, child abuse, domestic violence, cocaine possession, fraud, driving under the influence (DUI), drug trafficking, felony marijuana possession, illegal entry, illegal re-entry after deportation, larceny, possessing a controlled substance, and weapons possession; 30 were arrested on immigration violations.

Individuals arrested during this operation are from the following countries: Mexico (102), Honduras (13), Guatemala (5) El Salvador (1) Jamaica (1) and Cuba (1).

Following are criminal summaries of the four worst offenders arrested during this operation:

• A 46-year-old Mexican man was arrested July 11 in Harlingen by ERO officers.  He was convicted of manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance.  He was also removed six times to Mexico; he has three resultant federal convictions for illegal re-entry after deportation. He is again being federally prosecuted for illegal re-entry.  He remains in U.S. Marshals’ custody pending the outcome of his criminal case.
• A 41-year-old Mexican man twice convicted of assault-family violence, convicted of assault-bodily injury, and recently arrested for possessing a controlled substance was arrested July 11 by ERO officers in Austin. He is in ICE custody pending a removal hearing.
• A 51-year-old Mexican man convicted of heroin possession was arrested by ICE officers July 12 in Laredo.  He was previously deported and was federally convicted four times for illegal re-entry after deportation. He is in ICE custody pending his removal.
• A 39-year-old Mexican man was arrested July 12 in San Antonio by ERO officers.  He was convicted of two counts of lewd act on a child and one count of impregnating a minor; he was twice deported, and was convicted for illegal re-entry after deportation. He is again being federally prosecuted for illegal re-entry. He remains in U.S. Marshals’ custody pending the outcome of his criminal case.

During the course of the operation, two aliens that were arrested who had outstanding warrants. One alien was turned over to the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Task Force due to an outstanding warrant for Alien Smuggling.  The other was turned to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office based on an outstanding warrant for possessing marijuana. In the interest of public safety, ERO turned this alien over to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, despite the fact that it refuses to honor all ICE detainers.

“This operation was focused on targeting immigration fugitives and criminal aliens,” said Daniel Bible, field office director of ERO San Antonio.  “Public safety remains a top priory for ICE.  This was a focused eight-day enforcement operation over a large area, but we routinely conduct operations daily.”

All of the targets in this operation were amenable to arrest and removal under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.

ICE deportation officers carry out targeted enforcement operations daily nationwide as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to protect the nation, uphold public safety, and protect the integrity of our immigration laws and border controls.

These operations involve existing and established Fugitive Operations Teams.

During the targeted enforcement operations, ICE officers frequently encounter other aliens illegally present in the United States.  These aliens are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and, when appropriate, they are arrested by ICE officers.