Operation Cross Check: U.S. Congressman Confirms ICE Raids In Austin Part Of Bolstered Enforcement Effort

AUSTIN, TX — A U.S. Congressman from Texas confirmed Friday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is, indeed, conducting a round-up of undocumented immigrants in Austin — an initiative dubbed "Operation Cross Check" that has so far netted more then 40 undocumented immigrants throughout the city.

Congressman Joaquín Castro, who represents District 20 in Texas, issued a statement on Friday confirming growing reports of bolstered ICE enforcement in the city this week.

“I have been informed by ICE that the agency’s San Antonio field office has launched a targeted operation in South and Central Texas as part of Operation Cross Check," Castro said in a prepared statement. "I am asking ICE to clarify whether these individuals are in fact dangerous, violent threats to our communities, and not people who are here peacefully raising families and contributing to our state. I will continue to monitor this situation.”

There have been several reports of people being detained by ICE agents throughout Austin, some confirmed others hearsay. At a vigil staged Thursday night in front of a federal building, one woman from Honduras tearfully explained to a gathering of her own husband's detention that morning as he set out for his landscaping job that morning.

Castro's missive effectively ends speculation as to whether ICE was actually conducting bolstered ICE raids in the city, an offshoot of Donald Trump's call for crackdowns on foreign migration. Even interim Police Chief Brian Manley said during a news conference he was unsure whether or not federal immigration officials had stepped up enforcement efforts.

"I've heard the stories out there, but they don't check in with us, they don't have to check in with us," Manley said of ICE, explaining the federal agency has jurisdiction over Austin and thus no need to alert local law enforcement of their presence ahead of time. "So I don't know if ICE is operating at higher or lower levels than they had in months and years past," he said during an afternoon press conference.

Rumors had swirled of an ICE crackdown in Austin days before they actually occurred, as Patch reported Feb. 3. Those rumors posited the raids occurring that weekend, but the first confirmed reports of detentions emerged this week.

The Mexican consulate also confirmed the bolstered ICE activity locally, telling media outlets that 44 Mexican immigrants have been detained in the past 48 hours in Austin. The number of total detentions could be much higher, given the cultural diaspora to be found in Austin; the landscaper detained Thursday morning, for example, is a Honduras native.

In March 2015, a same-named, five-day operation took place throughout the country netting 2,059 convicted criminals, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, although it's unclear if this week's initiative is related to that effort. The 2015 operation was led by ICE and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), according to a news advisory issued that year.

“This nationwide operation led to the apprehension of more than 2,000 convicted criminal aliens who pose the greatest risk to our public safety,” said then-Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. “Today, communities around the country are safer because of the great work of the men and women of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
Also dubbed “Cross Check,” the initiative began Sunday, March 1, and ended Thursday, March 5 in 2015.

Hundreds of ERO officers participated in the operation focusing arrests of public safety threats, according the the DHS advisory at the time. Those arrested originated from 94 countries, and had a wide array of criminal convictions, officials said. More than 1,000 of those arrested two years ago had felony convictions, including voluntary manslaughter, child pornography, robbery, kidnapping and rape, according to DHS.

Of the total 2,059 arrested, 58 were known gang members or affiliates, and 89 are convicted sex offenders, officials said.

Castro's congressional district serves the western half of San Antonio and Bexar County in Texas. The district is heavily Latino, as is its surrounding area.

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