DALLAS — Federal officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 75 criminal aliens and others throughout North Texas and Oklahoma during a three-day enforcement action which ended Monday.
The operation began April 1 and ended April 3. ICE officers made arrests in the following ERO Dallas Field Office cities with 50 arrests in North Texas: Abilene (5), Amarillo (1), Arlington (2), Canadian (1), Carrollton (1), Dallas (11), Denton (1), Fort Worth (1), Frisco (1), Garland (2), Lewisville (1), Lubbock (10), Muleshoe (1), Plainview (2), San Angelo (2), Slaton (1) and Tyler (7); and 25 arrests in Oklahoma: Oklahoma City (18) and Tulsa (7). The ERO Dallas area of responsibility includes 128 counties in North Texas and the state of Oklahoma.
Of those arrested, 73 were men; two were women; they ranged in age between 18 and 61 years old.
All the foreign nationals targeted by ICE officers during this enforcement action had prior criminal convictions. The majority of those arrested — 52 of the 75 — had criminal histories that included convictions for the following crimes: aggravated assault, assault, burglary of a vehicle, child abuse by injury, dangerous drugs, delivery of cocaine, fraud, driving under the influence (DUI), drug trafficking, felony marijuana possession, illegal entry, larceny, possession of a controlled substance, and reckless conduct with a firearm. Twenty four of those arrested had DUI convictions.
Following are criminal summaries of five of those arrested during this operation:
- On April 1, 2017, a 37-year-old citizen of Mexico was arrested at his residence in Tulsa. On April 1, 2015, the District Court of Tulsa County convicted him of reckless conduct with a firearm. Following his most recent ICE arrest, he was served with a notice to appear and will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
- On April 1, 2017, a 40-year-old citizen of Mexico was arrested at his residence in Oklahoma City. In February 2017, the District Court of Oklahoma County convicted him of possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, to wit: cocaine. He was sentenced to 10 years (suspended). Following his most recent ICE arrest, he was served with an administrative removal order and will remain in ICE custody pending removal.
- On April 1, 2017, a 50-year-old citizen of Mexico was arrested at his residence in Plainview, Texas, by Fugitive Operations Team members and Hale County Sheriff’s Deputies. On Oct. 17, 1991, the Carson City, Nevada, District Court convicted him on two counts of selling a controlled substance; he was sentenced to five years’ incarceration on each count. On Oct. 27, 2015, the Hale County Court convicted him of DUI and sentenced him to 90 days incarceration. In June 1992, he was ordered removed by an immigration judge in Florence, Arizona, as an aggravated felon. Days later, he was removed to Mexico. He later illegally re-entered the United States. Following his most recent ICE arrest, ICE officers turned him over to the Hale County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department based on an outstanding state warrant for him for violating probation related to his DUI conviction. ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the Hale County Jail.
- On April 2, 2017, a 37-year-old a citizen of Mexico was arrested outside of a residence in El Reno, Oklahoma by Oklahoma City Fugitive Operations Team members. On April 15, 2002, the 20th Circuit Court in Collier County, Florida, convicted him of aggravated battery. He was sentenced to two years confinement (suspended). On Oct. 3, 2005, he was ordered removed by an immigration judge in El Paso, Texas; ICE officials removed him to Mexico the same day. Following his most recent ICE arrest, his original removal orders were reinstated. He will remain in ICE custody pending his removal.
- On April 3, 2017, a 36-year-old citizen of Mexico was encountered by Dallas Fugitive Operations Team members. He was convicted of DUI May 1, 2009, at the County Criminal Court No. 7 in Dallas, Texas. Following his most recent ICE arrest, he was served with a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
During this ICE operation, ERO officers received assistance from special agents with ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
“We specifically targeted criminal aliens during this operation,” said Simona L. Flores, field office director for ERO Dallas. “And we improved overall public safety by removing 52 convicted criminal aliens from our streets throughout North Texas and Oklahoma. This was a focused three-day operation, but our routine operations occur daily.”
All of the targets in this operation were amenable to arrest and removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
ICE deportation officers carry out targeted enforcement operations daily nationwide as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to protect the nation, uphold public safety, and protect the integrity of our immigration laws and border controls. These operations involve existing and established Fugitive Operations Teams.
During the targeted enforcement operations, ICE officers frequently encounter other aliens illegally present in the United States. They are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and, when appropriate, they are arrested by ICE officers.
In fiscal year 2016, ICE conducted 240,255 removals nationwide. Ninety-two percent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a crime.
