ICE arrests 16 during 2-day Operation SOAR in the New York City metropolitan area

NEW YORK – Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 16 sexual predators during a 2-day period, ending Sep. 11 in New York City, the Hudson Valley and on Long Island, in an enforcement effort dubbed “Operation SOAR” (Sex Offender Alien Removal).

In the course of Operation SOAR, ERO deportation officers apprehended 16 individuals with criminal histories related to sexual offenses. Of those arrested, 5 were previously released from local law enforcement on an active detainer. ICE places detainers on individuals who have been arrested on local criminal charges and who are suspected of being deportable, so that ICE can take custody of that person when he or she is released from local custody. When law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release serious criminal offenders onto the streets, it undermines ICE’s ability to protect public safety and carry out its mission.

In years past, most of these individuals would have been turned over to ICE by local authorities upon their release from jail based on ICE detainers. Now that many sanctuary cities, including New York City, do not honor ICE detainers, these individuals, who often have significant criminal histories, are released onto the street, presenting a potential public safety threat.

Arrests include:

• In the Bronx, a 53 year-old, Mexican national, released from NYPD custody with an active detainer, who has convictions for criminal possession of a loaded firearm; criminal possession of a weapon: defaced for concealment; and sexual misconduct: male has intercourse with a female without her consent;
• In Manhattan, a 42 year-old previously removed Salvadoran national, who has a conviction for sexual abuse of a child less than 11 years of age;
• In Maspeth, a 39 year-old Dominican national, who has a conviction for sexual abuse, and is a registered sexual offender;
• In Wyandanch, a 32 year-old Guatemalan national, who has a conviction for course of sexual conduct against a child less than 13 years of age;
• In Huntington Station, a 40 year-old previously removed Salvadoran national, who has a conviction for rape, and who has failed to register as a sexual offender;
• In Deer Park, a 54 year-old Italian national, who has a conviction for possession of sexual performance by child less than 16 years of age;
• In the Bronx, a 42 year-old Ghanaian national, who has a conviction for sexual contact with an individual greater than 17 incapable of giving consent;

Criminal histories of those arrested during the operation are as follows: Acting in Manner Injure Child, Assault, Attempted Assault, Attempted Rape 1st: Forcible Compulsion, Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child Criminal Possession of a Loaded Firearm, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Disorderly Conduct, Forcible Touching, Harassment, Possession of Sexual Performance; Sexual Abuse 1st , Sexual Abuse 2nd, Sexual Contact, Sexual Misconduct, and Unlawful Surveillance.

ERO deportation officers made arrests in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, in Deer Park, Freeport, Greenlawn, Huntington Station, and Wyandanch on Long Island, and New City in Rockland County.

One of the individuals arrested during this operation will face federal criminal prosecutions for illegal re-entry after deportation, and failure to register as a sexual offender. The arrestees who are not being federally prosecuted, are detained in ICE custody, and will be processed administratively for removal from the United States. Any individual that returns to the United States illegally after being deported, is subject to immediate removal from the country.