Federal immigration agents announced Thursday the arrests of more than 130 illegal immigrants with criminal records in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., during recent dual coast sting operations.
U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers nabbed of 112 foreign nationals in the greater L.A. area from Sunday to Wednesday. Officials in the District of Columbia and northern Virginia area arrested 24 men from July 10-14.
“By taking these individuals off our streets and ultimately removing them from the country, we’re making our communities safer for everyone,” David Marin, deputy field office director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, said in a statement Thursday.
Under President Obama’s 2014 executive action, individuals illegally in the U.S. who have criminal records for crimes committed in the country are eligible for these stings, most of which result in immediate deportation.
A net 62 percent of the Los Angeles arrestees had prior felony convictions for violent offenses, including child sex crimes, weapons charges and assault. The majority of the California arrests were Mexican nationals.
Over on the East Coast, the number of people immigration agents picked up was much smaller, but just as important, according to an official from the Washington office.
“The men we arrested were all convicted criminals who preyed on others through theft, assault, and in one case, rape,” said Yvonne Evans, field office director for ERO Washington, D.C. “The D.C.-metro area is now safer because these individuals are in our custody and off the streets.”
