Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 170 illegal immigrants in a nationwide operation this month that targeted people with criminal histories living in jurisdictions considered sanctuary cities.
ICE officers took into custody dozens of people in Baltimore, Denver, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., places that it said local policies prevent police from turning over illegal immigrants already in custody to federal authorities.
Department of Homeland Security officials announced the results of Operation Rise’s phase two to reporters in Philadelphia Friday, noting that more than 80% of the 170 people arrested had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges at the time of arrest and were released from jail despite ICE’s requests that they be turned over to face deportation proceedings for being in the United States illegally.
“Phase two of this operation was much more expansive and focused on the jurisdictions of Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle, New York, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore — all of which have enacted similarly reckless policies,” acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said in the press conference. “We have the legal right to investigate and detain those who break federal laws under our jurisdiction anywhere in the country, and we will use that right to fulfill our moral obligation to protect the citizens of this great country. We will not be deterred by any local jurisdiction that refuses to cooperate with ICE.”
ICE announced the arrests of nearly 130 people in California as part of phase one of the operation, which began in September. A total of 300 people have been arrested by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations officers over the past month.
[Also read: Trump officials blame prospect of Biden win for illegal immigrant border surge]
A Mexican citizen arrested in Longmont, Colorado, was convicted in 2018 for illegally reentering the U.S. and was convicted again in 2020 for felony menacing-real/simulated weapon, child abuse, and violation of bail bond conditions. A 61-year-old Peruvian living in Astoria, New York, who was convicted in 2016 for committing a criminal sex act in the third degree with a victim younger than 17 years old was arrested as well.
Due to sanctuary policies, local law enforcement usually cannot turn someone over to ICE or even notify the agency when someone in custody makes bail or is released. Sanctuary city leaders say they are protecting immigrant communities where people living illegally in the U.S. would otherwise be afraid to report crimes for fear of being deported.
Federal officers at ICE are able to look at local arrests and see if a person is in the country legally or illegally. If a person appears to be an illegal immigrant, the officer can request that the local law enforcement agency notify ICE before they are released so ICE can take custody and begin deportation proceedings. Sanctuary zones release illegal immigrants after they make bail or serve time in jail, including those with criminal convictions, without notifying ICE. As a result, ICE will then choose which released people to consider arresting in public.
The number of people deported by ICE continued to increase slowly under the Trump administration in the government’s 2019 fiscal year. Last year, ICE returned 267,258 people to their home countries. The tally under the Trump administration has been significantly lower than annual rates over the past decade. In fiscal year 2008, former President George W. Bush’s final full year in office, 369,221 people were deported.
