McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Federal state and local law enforcement arrested over 600 undocumented immigrants during a week-long targeted enforcement operation in the Houston area, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.
A total of 646 non-citizens were arrested during the operation from Feb. 23-March 2, ICE says. This includes 543 people with criminal charges and seven purported gang members.
The Houston area is a common destination location for immigrants who illegally cross the border from Tamaulipas, Mexico, into the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.
The 543 were living in the United States without citizenship documents and “have been charged or convicted or a criminal offense while they were illegally present” in the United States, ICE says.
This included:
- 140 charged or convicted of an aggravated felony or other violent offense such as homicide, aggravated assault, or domestic violence.
- 34 charged or convicted of a sex offense or child sex offense such as aggravated sexual assault of a minor, possession of child pornography, or rape.
- 38 convicted of illegal firearms offenses such as unlawful carrying of a firearm, alien in possession of a firearm and aggravated assault with a firearm.
- 52 charged or convicted of illicit narcotics offenses such as drug trafficking, or possession of a controlled substance.
- 51 charged or convicted of property crimes such as burglary or theft.
- 93 charged or convicted of driving while intoxicated.
“In recent years, some of the world’s most dangerous fugitives, transnational gang members and criminal aliens have taken advantage of the crisis at our nation’s southern border to illegally enter the U.S.,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford said. “After illegally entering the country, many of these criminal aliens have gone on to commit violent crime and reign terror on law-abiding residents. Fueled by our unwavering commitment to protect the public from harm, and united in our determination to restore integrity to our nation’s system of laws, ICE and our law enforcement partners in Southeast Texas have banded together to remove these dangerous criminal aliens from our local communities and put an end to the lawlessness that they spread.”
The operation included the execution of 71 criminal arrest warrants.
“These collective efforts have made our local communities significantly safer and strengthened our national security and border security. As a result, we’ve sent a resounding message to transnational criminal organizations everywhere that the law enforcement community in the Texas Gulf Coast is more united than ever and will not rest until we’ve eradicated these criminal elements from the country,” ICE Homeland Security Investigations Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz said.
Agencies involved in the arrests include: ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Diplomatic Security Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, and several other state and local law enforcement.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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