LOS ANGELES – A convicted rapist and a previously deported cocaine trafficker are among the 188 individuals arrested in the greater Los Angeles area by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Fugitive Operations officers during a five-day expanded enforcement operation that concluded Wednesday targeting at-large criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants, and immigration fugitives.
Of those arrested during the operation, which was spearheaded by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, 169, or almost 90 percent, had prior criminal convictions.
The just concluded operation targeted public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including individuals who re-entered the country after being removed, and immigration fugitives ordered deported by federal immigration judges.
The arrestees (177 men and 11 women) included nationals from 11 countries.
At least eight of the individuals arrested during the just concluded enforcement action now face federal prosecution for re-entry after deportation, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Since President Trump signed the Executive Orders (EOs) regarding immigration enforcement priorities, ICE has arrested more than 41,000 individuals nationwide who are either known or suspected of being in the country illegally, a nearly 40 percent increase over the same period in 2016. Almost 75 percent of those arrested during this period in 2017 are convicted criminals, with offenses ranging from homicide and assault to sexual abuse and drug-related charges. In the greater Los Angeles area, ICE officers made 2,273 administrative arrests during that time frame, including 2,049 criminal aliens.
