The federal agents arrested 39 illegal immigrants—30 males and nine females—across the nation between Aug. 27 and 29 during Operation No Safe Haven V. Some of those arrested have U.S. convictions including domestic violence, drug distribution, firearm possession, robbery, and fraud.
The illegal immigrants arrested in the operation all had outstanding removal orders and were subject to repatriation to their countries of origin, the federal agency said.
“ICE will not allow war criminals and human rights abusers to use the U.S. as a safe haven,” Acting Director Matthew Albence said in the statement. “We will never stop looking for them and we will never cease seeking justice for the victims of their crimes.”
Those arrested come from different countries of origin including El Salvador, Guatemala, China, and Sudan.
Among those arrested are 14 illegal aliens from Central America who have been implicated in numerous human trafficking-related crimes including the capture, arrest, and transport of civilians who were subsequently mistreated, and in some cases, beaten, electrocuted, and killed.
Four of those arrested are known or suspected human rights abusers who are complicit with working with the Chinese Communist Party to assist with forced abortions and sterilizations.
Meanwhile, another four who have been arrested are from West Africa and are linked to various atrocities including massacres, mutilations, recruitment of child soldiers, extrajudicial killings, and other human rights violations, the statement said.
Similarly, one person arrested from Europe had been previously implicated in crimes against political opponents.
The federal agency said it is committed to prosecuting and removing known or suspected human rights violators who seek a safe haven in the United States, adding that these people may use false identities or falsified documents to enter the country.
According to the statement, the agency has arrested over 415 people for human rights-related violations of various criminal or immigration laws since 2003. Moreover, ICE has deported more than 990 known or suspected human rights violators from the United States and facilitated the deportation of an additional 152 people.
The agency currently has over 170 active investigations into suspected human rights abusers and is also looking into over 1,600 leads and removal cases of people suspected of violating human rights.
