Federal officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 98 criminal aliens and immigration violators in North Texas and Oklahoma during a 10-day enforcement action, which ended Friday.
During this operation, ERO deportation officers made arrests in the following 38 Texas cities and towns: Amarillo (2), Arlington (2), Athens (1), Big Spring (1), Bridgeport (1), Canton (1), Carrollton (1), Dallas (11), Denton (3), Fort Worth (5), Frisco (3), Garland (1), Gilmer (4), Grapevine (1), Greenville (1), Haltom City (1), Haslett (1), Hawley (1), Irving (6), Jacksboro (2), Kaufman (1), Lewisville (2), Longview (2), Lubbock (9), McKinney (3), Mesquite (2), Palestine (2), Pampa (4), Perryton (2), Plainview (2), Plano (1), Sache (1), San Angelo (2), Sherman (2), Tyler (1), Wichita Falls (1) and White Oak (1). A total of 11 arrests were made in Oklahoma in Oklahoma City (3) and Tulsa (8). Of the 98 arrested, 67 had criminal convictions; 87 men and 11 women were arrested. They range in age from 19 to 62 years old.
Aliens arrested during this operation are from the following six countries: Mexico (82), El Salvador (7), Honduras (6), Marshall Islands (1), Pakistan (1) and Peru (1).
Most of the aliens targeted by ERO deportation officers during this operation had prior criminal histories that included convictions for the following crimes: alien smuggling, assault, burglary, dangerous drugs, discharge of a firearm, domestic violence, driving under the influence, drug trafficking, fraud, illegal entry, hit & run, homicide, larceny, lewd or lascivious acts with a minor, marijuana possession, possessing a weapon, probation violation, resisting officer, sex assault, sex offense, sex offense against a child, traffic offense and trespassing.
Five confirmed and documented gang members were also arrested during this operation.
Twenty nine of those arrested illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously deported, which is a felony. Depending on an alien’s criminality, an alien who re-enters the United States after having been previously deported commits a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted. Five of those arrested have been accepted for federal prosecution for re-entry after deportation.
