ICE arrests 145 in South and Central Texas

145 criminal aliens and immigration violators have been arrested in South and Central Texas during a seven-day enforcement action by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

At least 45 illegal immigrants were arrested by deportation officers in Austin. 41 individuals were arrested in San Antonio, 37 in Rio Grande Valley, 15 in Laredo, and 7 in Waco.

The arrests took place during a seven-day enforcement action, which ended February 16.

Of the 145 arrested, 86 had criminal convictions; 39 were arrested based on previous immigration encounters, four of which have pending criminal charges; 20 had no prior immigration history or encounters, one has pending criminal charges.

Of the total arrests 135 were men and 10 were women.

They range in age from 18 to 62 years old.

According to ICE, aliens arrested during this operation are from the following countries: Mexico (128), Guatemala (7), El Salvador (1), Honduras (7), Peru (1) and Jordan (1).

Most of the aliens targeted by deportation officers during this operation had prior criminal histories that included convictions for the following crimes: 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 (DUI).

“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’s leadership has made clear that ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and – if found removable by final order – removal from the United States. By effecting these immigration enforcement operations, the dedicated men and women of ICE help keep our communities safe.”

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), all of the targets in this operation were amenable to arrest and removal under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.