An operation targeting illegal aliens with violent criminal convictions or facing charges of crimes involving victims in the United States netted 2,000 fugitives in a six-week period ending August 20, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a press release on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st September, 2020) An operation targeting illegal aliens with violent criminal convictions or facing charges of crimes involving victims in the United States netted 2,000 fugitives in a six-week period ending August 20, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a press release on Tuesday.
"The aliens targeted during this operation preyed on men, women and children in our communities, committing serious crimes and, at times, repeatedly hurting their victims," ICE Director Tony Pham said in the release. "By focusing our efforts on perpetrators of crimes against people, we're able to remove these threats from our communities and prevent future victimization from occurring."
About 85 percent of those arrested had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, the release said.
Among those arrested, 388 had past convictions for criminal assault, with an additional 386 facing assault charges. Victims included both family and non-family members, including attacks on police officers, the release also said.
Fourteen had previous convictions for either homicide, including negligent manslaughter, plus another 12 with pending homicide charges, the release added.
In fiscal 2019, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested individuals with more than 1,900 convictions and charges for homicide, 1,800 for kidnapping, 12,000 sex offenses, 5,000 sexual assaults, 45,000 assaults, 67,000 crimes involving drugs, 10,000 weapons offenses, and 74,000 for DUIs [drunk driving], according to the release.
Immigrant rights groups claim illegal aliens are no more likely to commit crimes than US citizens or legal residents.
