(The Center Square) – Another multi-agency operation has resulted in the arrest of 178 criminal foreign nationals in Texas, this time in San Antonio.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 275 “illegal aliens, including 178 criminal aliens, during a seven-day operation focused on increasing public safety,” ICE announced.
“Criminal aliens have taken advantage of our immigration laws for long enough. We will continue to prioritize public safety,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations San Antonio acting Field Office Director Sylvester Ortega said. “Our mission to protect the American people is stronger than ever thanks to the hard work and dedication of ICE personnel out every day locating, arresting and removing criminal aliens illegally present in our country.”
Those arrested include
a 34-year-old twice-deported Mexican national with felony convictions facing illegal reentry after deportation charges;a 37-year-old Cuban national convicted of manufacturing and distributing heroin/methamphetamines and selling marijuana now arrested for forgery and drug possession;a 49-year-old, twice-deported Mexican national convicted of assault and battery, illegal reentry into the U.S., and disturbing the peace;a 57-year-old Costa Rican national wanted by Costa Rican authorities for fraud.
Other charges brought against those arrested include domestic violence, cocaine possession, larceny, driving under the influence, drug trafficking, weapon offenses, and assault.
Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted ICE during the operation, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Marshals Service.
“These joint operations show the public what can be done when agencies work together toward a common goal of public safety,” Ortega said.
The arrests were made as ICE agents in Houston continued to arrest hundreds of violent criminals and as chartered deportation flights began out of Houston, The Center Square reported.
In an earlier, separate one-week targeted operation in south Texas, ICE agents arrested 44 illegal foreign nationals, including 24 convicted criminals and one documented Paisas gang member. Their convictions included driving while intoxicated, theft, evading arrest, assault, alien smuggling, illegal reentry, sexual assault, possession of a controlled substance, burglary, possession of a firearm, tampering with evidence, among others.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Harlingen acting Field Office Director Robert Cerna said their approach was changing under the Trump administration.
“ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement,” he said. “Routine operations will continue in south Texas and the nation to find the worst of all aliens in violation of our immigration laws. They will be subject to arrest, detention and – if found removable by final order – removal from the United States.”
“The success of this targeted enforcement effort highlights the value of a comprehensive, multi-agency approach to ensuring public safety in our south Texas communities,” ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee said. “We remain committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners and leveraging all available resources to protect our communities along the southern border.”
