U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 31 criminal illegal immigrants on Long Island and nearby New York counties as part of in a three-day sting that ended Monday, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
The standard enforcement operation targeted criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants, and immigration fugitives. Suffolk County and the Queens borough topped surrounding regions with the highest number of arrests at six each. The Bronx followed with five arrests, while Westchester, Kings and Nassau counties each had three criminal aliens taken into custody. Manhattan, as well as Dutchess, Hudson and Rockland counties each had one or two residents seized.
Approximately 12 of the 31 total arrestees have been convicted of driving under the influence. The second-highest common denominator conviction was dangerous drugs and fraud, followed by robbery and larceny. A Guyanese national with a prior rape conviction in the third degree and a Honduran national felon whose record included acting in a manner to injure a minor were among those taken into federal immigration custody.
Six of the detainees are Mexican nationals, followed by five from the Dominican Republic. Guatemala and Honduras each had four nationals arrested. The remaining individuals are nationals of El Salvador, Trinidad, South Korea, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nepal, Colombia, Haiti and Guyana.
“Law enforcement operations like this should reassure the public that ICE is committed to putting public safety first,” Thomas Decker, field office director for ERO New York, said in a statement. “Those who come to the United States to prey upon our neighbors and communities will be prosecuted for their crimes and ultimately returned to their home countries.”
Last fiscal year, ICE conducted 240,255 removals nationwide. This month’s busts in New York will contribute to 2017 numbers.
The operation is one of many since President Trump signed an executive order directing immigration agents to fully implement the laws outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act, prompting some to label the operations as an inaugural move to deport illegal aliens.
