Posted by
Cary Wesberry on Thursday, May 29, 2008 6:33:59 PM
More than 900 criminal aliens, immigration fugitives, and immigration violators have been removed from the United States or are facing deportation following a three-week enforcement surge by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Fugitive Operations Teams in California.
During the special operation, which concluded late Tuesday, ICE officers located and arrested a total of 905 immigration violators throughout the state, including 137 in the San Diego area. Of those arrested locally, 73 were immigration fugitives, aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation or who returned to the United States illegally after being removed. More than 40% of the aliens taken into custody in this area had criminal histories in addition to being in the country illegally.
Among those arrested by the Fugitive Operations Teams locally was a 30-year-old Mexican national who was convicted in 1997 for robbery and sentenced to four years in state prison. Last year, Cesar Hernandez-Gallardo lost his appeal to remain in the United States and failed to depart after being ordered deported by an immigration judge. ICE officers also arrested a 37-year-old Mexican national at his residence in Escondido, whose criminal record includes a prior conviction for burglary. He was ordered deported last June and lost his appeal to remain in the United States last month. The other criminal arrests included violent crimes for assault with a deadly weapon, carjacking, domestic violence and sexual assault.
In addition to the local Fugitive Operations Teams, ICE officers from the agency's teams in Los Angeles and San Francisco were temporarily deployed to the area to assist with this enforcement action.
ICE's Fugitive Operations Teams are tasked with identifying and arresting foreign nationals who have ignored final orders of deportation or have returned to the United States illegally after being removed. The teams prioritize cases involving immigration violators who pose a threat to national security and community safety. These include child sexual exploiters, suspected gang members, and those who have convictions for violent crimes.
Nine hundred down, about 30-million to go! The question remains; how many of those 900 will cross back over our open borders to commit more violent crimes against American citizens? In Texas, my wonderful and loyal Congressman John Culberson, is working with border sherriffs to enforce zero-tolerance laws already on the books. Del Rio and Laredo are experiencing 80-90 percent drops in their crime rates. I have no problem whatseover in rounding-up alien criminals and deporting them; however, we must enforce our borders at the same time or it's a pointless exercise. It doesn't matter how many illegal aliens you deport if they can wonder right back across the border to commit similar crimes all over again.