A total of 49 foreign nationals were arrested over the last seven days in the Philadelphia Metropolitan region during a targeted enforcement operation, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The operation that was aimed at criminal aliens, immigration fugitives, re-entrants, and other immigration violators ended Sunday.
17 of those arrested had criminal convictions.
14 of those arrested have pending criminal charges.
6 had been previously removed from the United States and subsequently illegally re-entered.
14 were immigration fugitives with outstanding final orders of removal issued by a federal immigration judge.
14 of those arrested were previously released from Philadelphia County custody, despite having an ICE detainer lodged against them.
“This operation resulted in multiple arrests of criminal aliens, public safety threats, and individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” said ERO Philadelphia Acting Field Office Director Gregory Brawley.
“Some of these dangerous individuals had been released to the streets instead of being turned over to ICE on our detainers, which compromises the safety of the homeland that ICE officers strive to protect every day. ICE will continue conducting operations to execute its mission and bring to justice those subjects who jeopardize the sanctity of our immigration laws and the safety of our citizens.”
Arrest examples include:
May 14: ICE arrested a 52-year-old, unlawfully present Mexican man, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was arrested by Philadelphia Police Department and charged with simple assault and terroristic threats. He will remain in ICE custody without bond pending immigration proceedings. He was released from local law enforcement custody with an active detainer in place.
May 14: ICE arrested a 40-year-old, previously deported Jamaican man, in Philadelphia. He was arrested by Philadelphia Police Department after a bench warrant was issued for his arrest and charged with presenting false ID to law enforcement. He has a conviction for possession with intent to distribute, marijuana, for which he was sentenced to 37 months incarceration. He will be served with a notice to reinstate prior removal order and his case has been presented to the United States Attorney’s Office for possible prosecution. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.
May 15: ICE arrested a 40-year-old, previously deported Dominican man, in Philadelphia. He has a conviction for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, heroin, for which he was sentenced to 41 months confinement. He will be served with a notice to reinstate prior removal order and his case has been presented to the United States Attorney’s Office for possible prosecution. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.
May 15: ICE arrested a 22-year-old, Colombian man, in Philadelphia. He has a conviction for aggravated assault, for which he was sentenced to 11 and-half to 23 months confinement. He will remain in ICE custody without bond pending immigration proceedings.
May 16: ICE arrested a 35-year-old, Thais man, in Souderton, Pennsylvania. He has a conviction for possession of a firearm without a license, for which he was sentenced to three years’ probation. He also has a conviction for possession of a controlled substance for which he was sentenced to five years of probation. He will remain in ICE custody without bond pending immigration proceedings.
May 17: ICE arrested a 35-year-old, unlawfully present Mexican man, in Philadelphia. He has pending criminal charges in Philadelphia for aggravated assault and simple assault. He will remain in ICE custody without bond pending immigration proceedings.
May 19: ICE arrested a 27-year-old Jamaican man, in Philadelphia. He has a conviction for possession of firearms in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He will remain in ICE custody without bond pending immigration proceedings.
May 20: ICE arrested a 26-year-old, unlawfully present Haitian man, in Philadelphia. On June 10, 2016, he was convicted in the Common Pleas Court at Philadelphia, of robbery, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault, and criminal attempt-theft by unlawful taking. He was sentenced to a maximum of 23 months confinement. He will remain in ICE custody without bond pending immigration proceedings.
The stats cover the entirety of the agency’s field operations arrests in the Philadelphia Metropolitan region from Monday, May 14, 2018 through Sunday, May 20, 2018. This week’s enforcement operations were conducted in accordance with routine, daily targeted operations conducted by ICE field operations teams every day to arrest criminal aliens and other individuals who are in violation of our nation’s immigration laws, read a statement released by ICE.