UPDATED ICE Arrests Five From Santa Cruz County

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 3,168 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators, including 200 individuals in northern California, during a six-day sweep at the end of March, the agency announced Monday.

Among them was a 31-year-old Mexican national living in Aptos. The man, whose name was not released, had been deported in the past. He also was sentenced to six years in prison in 2001 following his conviction in Georgia for conspiracy to commit aggravated assault.

Other local arrests included one Watsonville residents, another person from Aptos and two Santa Cruz residents. Their names were not released.

The nationwide immigration sting was dubbed "Cross Check" and resulted in arrests in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, three U.S. territories and the District of Columbia, according to ICE.

“The results of this targeted enforcement operation underscore ICE's ongoing commitment and focus on the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens and those that game our nation's immigration system,” said ICE Director John Morton in a prepared statement.

Officers arrested 2,834 individuals who had prior criminal convictions including at least 1,063 aliens who had multiple criminal convictions, ICE reported. Of those arrested, 1,477 had felony convictions including murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, terror threats, drug trafficking, child abuse, battery on a child, sexual crimes against minors and aggravated assault. The arrestees also included 50 documented gang members and 149 convicted sex offenders. 

Arrests were made in nearly two dozen Northern California counties. Locally, 64 of those arrested were previously removed aliens who had illegally re-entered the country. The majority of the Northern California arrests were in five counties:

• 37 in Santa Clara County
• 31 in Kern County
• 18 in Alameda County
• 16 in both Contra Costa County and Fresno County

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