U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced this week that it arrested 75 illegal immigrants during ongoing enforcement efforts in Michigan and Ohio.
According to the federal agency, 70 percent of those arrested had prior arrests or criminal convictions, including sex offenses, criminal sexual conduct, domestic violence, aggravated assault and more.
The agency arrested an MS-13 gang member in Galloway, Ohio who was charged by Salvadoran authorities with organized terrorism, aggravated homicide, and creating danger to national security and public peace.
“ICE officers are first and foremost focused on removing criminal aliens from the community,” said Rebecca Adducci, field office director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Michigan and Ohio. “I applaud the dedicated men and women of ICE and our partners who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe, often in the face of great personal danger.”
In Sterling Heights, Michigan, ICE arrested a 55-year-old citizen of Iraq who has convictions for larceny, delivering cocaine, breaking and entering an automobile, delivering and manufacturing ecstasy, and delivering and manufacturing marijuana.
A 41-year-old citizen of Serbia was arrested in Warren, Ohio during the operation and has convictions for carjacking and operating a vehicle under the influence.
ICE said the individuals arrested were nationals of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tunisia.
The enforcement operation took place between February 1 and 7, targeting at-large criminal aliens and illegal re-entrants.
The agency said that approximately 86 percent of its Enforcement and Removal Operations arrests in fiscal year 2019 either had a criminal conviction or were facing criminal charges.
ICE arrested 46 criminal aliens throughout Michigan and Ohio during a similar enforcement operation in October.
In recent weeks, the agency has started issuing subpoenas to obtain information refused under local and state sanctuary policies.
Michigan’s own Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) supports abolishing ICE and said the agency “needs to be completely dismantled.”
– – –
Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
