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June 11, 2019Chicago, IL, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

ICE arrests 140 criminal aliens and immigration violators in 5-day enforcement surge in 6 Midwestern states

CHICAGO — Federal officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 140 criminal aliens and immigration violators in six Midwest states during a five-day enforcement action, which ended Thursday.

During this enforcement surge, ICE officers made arrests in the following states: Illinois (45), Indiana (13), Kansas (16), Kentucky (43), Missouri (12) and Wisconsin (11). Five women and 135 men were arrested.

Aliens arrested during this operation are from the following 14 countries:  Benin (1), Cuba (1), Ecuador (3), El Salvador (3), Guatemala (26), Honduras (7), Jordan (1), Mexico (92), Micronesia (1), Moldova (1), Nicaragua (1), Poland (1), Saudi Arabia (1) and South Korea (1).

Nearly a third of the aliens arrested (42) by ICE deportation officers during this enforcement surge had prior criminal histories that included convictions for the following crimes: assault, battery, domestic violence, cruelty, driving under the influence, drug possession, drug trafficking, fraud, identity theft, larceny, illegal re-entry after deportation, resisting officers, obstruction of justice, hit and run, and illegally possessing weapons.

Fifty-three of those arrested were immigration fugitives; 20 others illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously deported, which is a felony.

Depending on an alien’s criminality, an alien who re-enters the United States after having been previously deported commits a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.

The following are 11 criminal summaries of offenders arrested in the ICE Chicago area of responsibility during this enforcement surge:

  • June 3: ICE officers arrested a 38-year-old Honduran illegal alien in Indianapolis. He has several felony convictions, including two driving under the influence criminal convictions and a hit-and-run conviction. He was ordered remove by an immigration judge in 2017; he remains in ICE custody pending his return to Honduras.
  • June 3: ICE officers arrested a 55-year-old Mexican illegal alien in Elmwood, Illinois. He has several criminal convictions, including a domestic battery conviction and two driving under the influence convictions. He has a 2018 final removal order and will remain in ICE custody pending his removal to Mexico.
  • June 3: ICE officers arrested a 57-year-old Mexican illegal alien in Chicago. He has a several firearms criminal convictions, one of which is a felony. In 2018, he was ordered removed by an immigration judge. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal from the United States.
  • June 3: ICE officers arrested a 48-year-old Guatemalan illegal alien in Louisville, Kentucky after his criminal intimidation arrest in Wichita, Kansas.  He remains in ICE custody pending the resolution of his immigration case.
  • June 3: ICE officers arrested a 42-year-old Mexican illegal alien in Milwaukee. He has a domestic abuse criminal conviction, and a final order of removal. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal from the U.S.
  • June 4: ICE arrested a 30-year-old Mexican illegal alien in Indianapolis. He has a federal drug criminal conviction. He remains in ICE custody pending disposition of his immigration proceedings.
  • June 5: ICE arrested a 31-year-old Guatemalan illegal alien in Indianapolis. He has a felony criminal conviction for driving under the influence. He also has a final order of removal and remains in ICE custody pending his removal to Guatemala.
  • June 5: ICE arrested a 24-year-old Mexican illegal alien from in Louisville, Kentucky. During the arrest, officers found several rifles and handguns.  He remains in federal custody pending the outcome of his firearms charges.
  • June 6: ICE arrested a 33-year-old Guatemalan illegal alien in Kansas City, Missouri. He was convicted for assault, and he has a final order of removal.  He remains in ICE custody pending his removal.
  • June 6: ICE arrested a 28-year-old Mexican illegal alien in Wood River, Illinois.  He has been previously removed two times from the United States.  He remains in ICE custody pending disposition of his federal case which has been presented for prosecution on re-entry charges. 
  • June 6: ICE officers arrested a 27-year-old Mexican illegal alien in Olathe, Kansas.  He has a previous conviction for illegally re-entering the U.S. after being removed. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal.

The Chicago area of responsibility includes the six states of Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin.

“This surge targeted criminal aliens, public safety threats, and individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” said Louie Zamora, acting field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Chicago. “Our ICE officers provide a valuable public service by removing criminal aliens who pose a threat to their own immigrant communities.  They also enforce U.S. immigration laws by carrying out the orders of federal immigration judges.”

All of the targets arrested during this operation were amenable to arrest and removal under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.

ICE deportation officers carry out targeted enforcement operations daily nationwide as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to protect the nation, uphold public safety, and protect the integrity of our immigration laws and border controls.

These operations involve existing and established Fugitive Operations Teams.

During targeted enforcement operations, ICE officers frequently encounter other aliens illegally present in the United States.  These aliens are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and, when appropriate, they are arrested by ICE officers.

Editor’s Note: The arrest statistics provided in this news release represent preliminary data that has been manually reported to ICE headquarters. Official numbers can vary slightly from preliminary data.

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