ICE Arrests 26 Illegal Immigrants in California for Removal Over Crimes of Sexual Abuse

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) team arrests an illegal immigrant in Los Angeles in a photo released on Dec. 21, 2023. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

It’s been a busy period for arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in California in the leadup to Christmas.

Last week, ICE’s Los Angeles Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) team arrested 26 illegal immigrants who are sex offenders in a two-day operation.

The operation targeted removing illegal immigrants who were known to law enforcement and had criminal convictions relating to sexual offences, posing “a serious threat to public safety,” ICE said in a press release.

“The outcome of this operation exemplifies the professionalism, dedication and commitment of ERO Los Angeles officers to public safety,” ERO Los Angeles Field Office Director Thomas Giles said. “Removing these individuals and the threats they represent from our communities is our mission, and we will continue to safely and effectively enforce the immigration laws of our nation.”

The ERO is the primary federal body charged with oversight of domestic immigration enforcement.

ICE said that among those arrested were a 19-year-old from El Salvador, a 40-year-old from Mexico, and a 35-year-old from Guatemala. All have been convicted by the Superior Court of California of felonies related to child sexual abuse.

The department said that the removals were done in accordance with Biden administration policy guidelines issued by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sept. 30 last year, which have been in effect since June 28.

According to the office, the ERO’s mission is to “protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal.

The ERO across fiscal year 2022 made 46,396 arrests of illegal immigrants with criminal histories.

These individuals collectively committed 198,498 criminal acts while in the United States, including 21,531 assault offenses, 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses, 5,554 weapons offenses, 1,501 homicide-related offenses, and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.

The figures for 2023 have yet to be released, amid a record illegal immigration surge at the border.

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