83 Arrested In Texas, Oklahoma ICE Roundup

DALLAS — During a three-day streak of raids, federal officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 86 people they say immigrated to the U.S. illegally. Most of those arrested were taken into custody in North Texas, although arrests were made in West Texas, East Texas and Oklahoma.

ICE stated in a press release that 55 of the immigrants target by deportation officers had prior criminal histories. According to the release, those criminal histories included convictions for sexually exploiting a minor, assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, drug possession, burglary, obstructing police, larceny, manufacturing methamphetamine, firearms offense, smuggling, receiving stolen property, illegally entering the U.S., and driving under the influence.

The raids spanned from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25.

Here's how the arrests played out by city:

Texas:

• Abilene — 3
• Amarillo — 3
• Alvarado — 2
• Arlington — 3
• Athens — 1
• Breckenridge — 2
• Corsicana — 1
• Dallas — 11
• Denton — 2
• Fort Worth — 3
• Friona — 2
• Garland — 1
• Grand Prairie — 1
• Greenville — 3
• Hereford — 8
• Jacksonville — 1
• Kaufman — 1
• Longview — 3
• Lubbock — 11
• Mansfield — 1
• McKinney — 1
• Plano — 1
• Terrell — 4

Oklahoma:

• Oklahoma City — 11
• Tulsa — 5

According to the release, 82 of those arrested were men and four were women. They range in age from 19 to 61-years-old and originate from the following countries:

• Mexico — 55
• Guatemala — 10
• El Salvador — 6
• Honduras — 4
• Bangladesh — 3
• Cameroon — 1
• Jordan — 1
• Laso — 1
• LIberia — 1
• Nigeria — 1
• Panama — 1
• Philippines — 1
• Zimbabwe — 1

Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for ICE, told Patch in an email that most of those who were arrested face immigration hearings before they are deported. Some exceptions, he said, are those who were already deported or those with a final order of removal.

Until the hearings, the immigrants are held at either ICE facilities or county jails where ICE has a contract, Rusnok stated.

According to the release, 21 of those who were arrested illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously deported, which is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison if a conviction is made.

“This operation focused on targeting immigration fugitives and criminal aliens in North Texas and the state of Oklahoma, but we routinely conduct operations daily,” said Bret Bradford, field office director of ERO Dallas. “By removing criminal aliens from the streets, our ICE officers provide a valuable community service by improving public safety.”

ICE deportation officers carry out targeted enforcement operations daily nationwide as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to protect the nation, uphold public safety, and protect the integrity of our immigration laws and border controls, the release states.

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