ICE Arrests 82 In Sweep of Hudson Valley, NYC, Long Island

Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested 82 people during a five-day period in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster and Westchester counties, New York City, and Long Island.

• More than 40 of those arrested had been previously released from local law enforcement custody with an active detainer.
• Ten were previously removed from the United States and returned illegally.
• Several had prior felony convictions for serious or violent offenses, such as sexual crimes, weapons charges, and assault, or had past convictions for significant or multiple misdemeanors.

“Of those arrested during these five days, more than half were released from local custody with an active detainer,” said Thomas R. Decker, field office director for ERO New York. “ICE deportation officers continue to focus enforcement efforts on arresting and removing those criminal aliens who think the laws of this country are mere suggestions.”

ERO deportation officers arrested 42 individuals during this operation, ending Sep. 25, who were previously released from local law enforcement on an active detainer. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) places detainers on individuals who have been arrested on local criminal charges and who are suspected of being deportable, so that ICE can take custody of that person when he or she is released from local custody. When law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release serious criminal offenders onto the streets, it undermines ICE’s ability to protect public safety and carry out its mission.

Arrests include:

• In Yonkers, a 32 year-old Peruvian national released from NYPD custody with an active detainer, who has pending charges for forcibly touching: touch sexual/intimate parts of another person; forcible touching - subject victim to sexual contact on bus/train/subway, and sexual abuse 3rd: subject another person to sex contact without consent;
• In Yonkers, a 40 year-old Mexican national released from NYPD custody with an active detainer, who has pending charges for forcibly touching: touch sexual/intimate parts of another person, and sexual abuse 3rd;
• In Mamaroneck, a 51 year-old Mexican national and registered sexual offender, released from NYPD custody with an active detainer, who has convictions for unlawful surveillance 2nd: use imaging device to view under clothing, and DWI. He has pending charges for forcible touching, public lewdness, sexual abuse 3rd, and unlawful surveillance

Criminal histories of those arrested during the enforcement effort are as follows: Act in Manner Injure Child, aggravated DWI, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Assault, Criminal Contempt, Criminal Obstruction of Breathing or Blood Circulation, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Criminal Possession of Marijuana, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Criminal Sex Act, DWI, Endangering the Welfare of a Child; Forcible Touching, Grand Larceny, Harassment, Kidnapping, Petit Larceny, Possessing Sexual Performance by Child, Public Lewdness, Rape, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Course Of Sexual Conduct Against a Child 2nd, Sexual Misconduct, Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, and Unlawful Surveillance.

The arrestees include nationals from Algeria, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Spain, and Ukraine. ERO deportation officers made arrests throughout New York City, the Hudson Valley, and on Long Island, specifically in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, and the Hudson Valley counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, and Westchester. One arrest was made in Essex County, New Jersey.

ICE focuses its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. However, ICE no longer exempts classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States.

Some of the individuals arrested during this operation will face federal criminal prosecutions for illegal entry and illegal re-entry after removal. Depending on the alien’s criminal history, an alien who illegally reenters the United States, has committed a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. The arrestees who are not being federally prosecuted, are detained in ICE custody, and will be processed administratively for removal from the United States.

Any local jurisdiction thinking that refusing to cooperate with ICE will result in a decrease in local immigration enforcement is mistaken, federal officials said. "Local jurisdictions that choose to not cooperate with ICE are likely to see an increase in ICE enforcement activity, as in jurisdictions that do not cooperate with ICE the agency has no choice but to conduct more at-large arrest operations. A consequence of ICE being forced to make more arrests on the streets is the agency is likely to encounter other unlawfully present foreign nationals that wouldn’t have been encountered had we been allowed to take custody of a criminal target within the confines of a local jail."