Skip to main content
May 17, 2019New Orleans, LA, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

ICE New Orleans arrests 33 during week-long fugitive, criminal alien surge

ICE New Orleans arrests 33 during week-long fugitive, criminal alien surge ICE New Orleans arrests 33 during week-long fugitive, criminal alien surge ICE New Orleans arrests 33 during week-long fugitive, criminal alien surge

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) New Orleans Field Office arrested more than 30 unlawfully present foreign nationals during a four-day targeted enforcement surge this week focused on persons ordered removed from the U.S. within the last five years who also have criminal convictions or pending charges.

According to preliminary arrest statistics, the field office made 33 at-large arrests May 13-16 across its area of operations. Of the 33 arrests, 22 have prior criminal convictions or pending criminal charges; 23 were either previously deported or have outstanding removal orders issued by the courts. Nine arrests took place in metro New Orleans, 12 in Alabama, eight in Arkansas and four in Tennessee. 

Of the 33 aliens arrested during this enforcement surge, 10 have prior criminal convictions and 12 are currently facing pending criminal charges. Additionally, 15 are immigration fugitives previously ordered removed from the U.S. by a federal immigration judge and 8 are illegal reentrants previously deported from the U.S. who subsequently illegally reentered the country – illegally reentering the U.S. after removal is a felony act under federal law and these persons could potentially face federal criminal prosecution prior to being removed again from the U.S.

“These arrests are an excellent example of ICE’s ongoing focus toward unlawfully present foreign nationals who commit criminal offenses as well as those who threaten the integrity of our nation’s immigration system,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New Orleans Acting Field Office Director Trey Lund. “Despite attempts by some to confuse the public, ICE does not conduct any type of random or indiscriminate enforcement and the agency’s targeted enforcement efforts make communities safer for all persons whatever their immigration status may be.”

Following are examples of persons arrested during this enforcement surge:

  • On May 13 the ICE New Orleans field office arrested an unlawfully present Honduran national in metro Birmingham who illegally reentered the U.S. multiple times after being removed in August 2018, August 2013 and March 2004. The subject is currently facing criminal domestic violence charges pursuant to an instance in which he is accused of choking the victim.
  • On May 14 the ICE New Orleans field office arrested an unlawfully present Honduran national in metro New Orleans with an outstanding removal order and an October 2015 battery conviction pursuant to his arrest for battery on a law enforcement officer. The subject also has an August 2007 conviction for violating a protective order and an April 2001 DUI conviction.
  • On May 14 the ICE New Orleans field office arrested an unlawfully present Guatemalan national in Little Rock who illegally reentered the U.S. after he was removed in May 2014 following his arrest for domestic battery in March 2014.
  • On May 15 the ICE New Orleans field office arrested an unlawfully present Mexican national in Memphis with an outstanding removal order and two prior DUI convictions from June 2005 and November 2001. Subject also has a federal conviction for illegal entry into the U.S. from April 2007.

During the 2018 Fiscal Year the ICE New Orleans field office arrested a total of 10,270 removable foreign nationals on administrative immigration violations. Of those, 89 percent had either a prior criminal conviction or pending criminal charge. These stats make clear that ICE focuses its limited enforcement resources first and foremost toward criminal offenders, as well as a focus on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security.

ICE conducts targeted immigration enforcement in full compliance with federal law and agency policy. ICE does not conduct any type of sweeps or raids that would target aliens indiscriminately.

In FY2018, ICE nationally arrested 158,581 aliens, 90% of whom had criminal convictions (66%), pending criminal charges (21%), or previously issued final orders of removal (3%). The agency’s overall arrest totals represented an 11% increase over FY2017. In FY2018, ERO removed 256,086 illegal aliens, reflecting an increase of 13% over FY2017. The majority of removals (57%) were convicted criminals. Additionally, 5,914 of the removed illegal aliens were classified as either known or suspected gang members or terrorists, which is a 9% increase over FY2017.

Editor’s Note: The arrest statistics provided in this news release represent preliminary data that has been manually reported by an ICE Field Office and may vary from official agency metrics contained in ICE’s system of record. Because ICE’s official metrics are reported by Area of Responsibility (AOR), they may differ in content and level of detail from data that has been manually reported by a Field Office.

Updated: