Southland Immigration Raids Net 162 Including Sex Offenders

LOS ANGELES, CA — More than 160 people were arrested this week in a series of Southland immigration raids by federal authorities. The operation netted a Mexican national convicted of rape and a citizen of El Salvador convicted of voluntary manslaughter, authorities said Thursday. Almost 90 percent of the people arrested had criminal convictions, including weapons violations, domestic violence, various drug charges, sex crimes against children, assault against peace officer/emergency personnel, and grand theft/larceny, according to to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In all, immigration agents arrested 162 people in a the three-day operation that ended Tuesday "targeted public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, and individuals who have violated the immigration laws of the United States -- including those who re-entered the country after being deported and immigration fugitives ordered deported by federal immigration judges," according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The vast majority of the arrests were in Los Angeles where operations netted 80 arrests. Elsewhere, 25 were in Orange County, 15 were in San Bernardino County, 12 were in Riverside County, 22 were in Santa Barbara County, and eight were in Ventura County.

Among those arrested were:

-- A 32-year-old Mexican national arrested in Maywood on June 10 who was convicted of rape and sentenced to eight years' incarceration.

-- A 47-year-old previously deported El Salvadorian national arrested in Winnetka on June 12 who was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to seven years in prison.

-- And a 33-year-old Venezuelan national arrested in Santa Ana on June 11 who has prior convictions for crimes including assault on a peace officer, battery of a spouse, and assault with a deadly weapon.

The arrestees -- 157 men and five women -- were nationals from 12 countries, including 129 from Mexico, 10 from El Salvador, and 10 from Guatemala, officials said.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report; File photo courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.