MILWAUKEE — Sixteen convicted criminal aliens from Mexico were arrested in the greater Milwaukee area during a two-day operation conducted this week by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
This enforcement surge, which concluded Wednesday, is the latest effort by ICE to prioritize the arrest and removal of convicted criminals living illegally in the United States. ERO received significant assistance during this operation from the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).
All 16 arrested during this operation had been convicted of crimes in the United States and fall within ICE’s enforcement priorities. Their convictions include the following crimes: force/assault with a deadly weapon not firearm — gross bodily injury likely, receiving stolen property, battery, grand theft (auto), drug possession with intent to distribute, and drunk driving. Two were previously deported and two have outstanding deportation orders.
“ICE officers are focused on arresting and removing convicted criminals from our communities,” said Ricardo Wong, field office director for ERO Chicago. “When we locate, arrest and remove the most egregious offenders, we immediately improve public safety in the Milwaukee area.”
All 16 arrested are Mexican males. Arrests were made in the following Wisconsin communities: Milwaukee (8), Waukesha (4), and one arrest each in Greenfield, New Berlin, Oconomowoc and Pewaukee. All remain in ICE custody, except one individual who was turned over to MCSO on outstanding arrest warrants.
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.
