Officers with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 71 people in North Texas and 18 in Oklahoma during a three-day operation.
According to a release from ICE, one of the 89 arrested had 67 criminal convictions, and the rest had criminal history that included aggravated assault, aggravated assault of a public servant, alien smuggling, child abuse, dangerous drugs, discharge of a firearm, among others.
Twenty three of those also re-entered the United States after being deported and, if convicted, they may face up to 20 years in federal prison depending on the criminality, according to ICE.
During the operation that ended Thursday, people from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Nigeria, El Salvador, Laos, Nicaragua, Pakistan and Vietnam were arrested.
“This North Texas and Oklahoma operation removed 67 criminal aliens from our streets and our communities,” said Simona L. Flores, field office director of ERO Dallas. “In addition to this valuable community service, our ICE officers also help maintain the integrity of our immigration laws.” The Dallas area of responsibility includes 128 counties in North Texas and Oklahoma.
The operation took place in cities such as Dallas, Fort Worth, Irving, Balch Springs, Rockwall, Plano, and Garland.
According to ICE, officers carry out enforcement operations daily across the country as part of the efforts to protect the nation and uphold public safety.
The agency also stated that all of the targets during the North Texas and Oklahoma operations were amenable to arrest under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.
