The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Removal Operations team arrested nearly 150 people in South and Central Texas during a seven-day enforcement operation, and the majority of the arrests came from the Austin area.
During the operation that ended Feb, 16, ICE said out of the 145 criminal aliens and immigration violators they arrested, 45 people were caught in Austin.
Ice said the arrestees' home countries include Mexico (128), Guatemala (7), El Salvador (1), Honduras (70), Peru (1) and Jordan (1). One hundred and thirty-five arrestees were men and 10 were women that ranged in age from 18 to 62 years old.
ICE said a majority of the people arrested during the operation already had criminal records: indecency with a child, assault, deadly conduct, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, drug possession, drug trafficking, burglary, resisting arrest, firearms' offense, alien smuggling, illegally entering the U.S. and driving under the influence.
According to officials, 60 of the arrestees had reentered the United States after previously being deported -- a felony that could carry a sentence up to 20 years in federal prison based on the undocumented person's criminality; 20 had no prior immigration history or encounters, one has pending criminal charges.
“The results of this operation are a clear indication of ICE’s commitment regarding the role we play in keeping our communities safe by locating, arresting and ultimately removing at-large criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety, and other immigration fugitives,” said Daniel Bible, field office director for ERO in San Antonio.
ICE added that officers frequently encounter other aliens illegally present in the United States during their operations. These aliens are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and, when appropriate, they are arrested by ICE officers.
Cities outside of Austin and their arrest totals are listed below:
San Antonio - 41
Rio Grande Valley - 37
Laredo - 15
Waco - 7
