ICE arrests 31 in 5-day New York City metropolitan-area enforcement surge

NEW YORK – Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New York arrested 31 during a 5-day enforcement surge, from May 19-23rd, in New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley.

During the effort, which focused on persons ordered removed from the U.S. with criminal convictions or pending charges, ERO deportation officers arrested 31 individuals for violating U.S. immigration laws.

Of those arrested, more than 26 were convicted criminals or had criminal charges pending, more than 29 had been issued a final order of removal and failed to depart the United States, or had been previously removed from the United States.

Some of the individuals arrested during these enforcement actions may face federal criminal prosecution for illegal re-entry after removal.

The arrestees who are not being federally prosecuted will be processed administratively for removal from the United States. Those who have outstanding orders of removal, or who returned to the United States illegally after being removed, are generally subject to immediate removal from the country. Two individuals are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge.

“ICE officers conduct targeted enforcement actions daily, and like in this initiative, we arrest criminal aliens who are public safety threats in the communities,” said Thomas R. Decker, field office director for ERO New York. “With the misinformation and misrepresentation about ICE, we continue to focus of the truth of our priority, which is to target and arrest criminal aliens to remove them off the streets in the interest of public safety.”

Among those arrested were:

In Elmont, a citizen of St. Kitts, with an outstanding removal order, who was previously convicted of attempted assault 2nd degree: person 18 or mores cause injury to person less than 7 years of age. The victim in that case was a 3-month old child that was struck multiple times in the face causing a fracture to the orbital bone.
In the Bronx, a citizen of the El Salvador, with an outstanding removal order, previously released from New York City Department of Correction custody with an active detainer lodged, who was previously convicted of criminal tampering 1st degree, and criminal trespass 2nd degree: enter or remain unlawfully in a dwelling.
In New Hyde Park, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, with an outstanding removal order, who was previously convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and conspiracy to impair, impeded, obstruct, and defeat the Internal Revenue Service.
In Brooklyn, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, with an outstanding removal order, who was previously convicted of criminal possession stolen property 4th degree: motor vehicle, and of criminal possession of a controlled substance.
In Rosedale, a citizen of Jamaica, with an outstanding removal order, who was previously convicted of reckless driving on two separate occasions, and has pending criminal charges for assault 2nd degree: intent to cause physical injury with weapon/instrument, burglary 3rd degree: illegal entry with intent to commit crime, identity theft, obstruct governmental administration, possession of burglar tools, and resisting arrest.
In Brooklyn, a citizen of China, with an outstanding removal order, who was previously convicted of promoting prostitution, and possession of a forged instrument.
In Hempstead, a citizen of Jamaica, with an outstanding removal order, who was previously convicted of disorderly conduct: create hazardous or physical offensive condition, and harassment.
In Brewster, a citizen of Guatemala, with an outstanding removal order, who was previously convicted of assault, and resisting arrest.
In Hempstead, a citizen of Guatemala, with an outstanding removal order, who was previously convicted of aggravated DWI, and DWI.
In Brooklyn, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, with an outstanding removal order, who was previously convicted of criminal possession stolen property, and has a pending criminal charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance.
In Central Islip, a citizen of El Salvador, with an outstanding removal order, who was previously convicted of endangering the welfare of a child, and DWI.

The arrestees include nationals from: China, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, St. Kitts, and Ukraine.

Arrests were made in the following counties:

New York City	Nassau County	Suffolk County	Dutchess County	Orange County	Putnam County	Ulster County	Westchester County
Bronx Brooklyn	Elmont Freeport Hempstead Hicksville New Hyde Park Roosevelt Valley Stream	Brentwood Central Islip Huntington Station	Poughkeepsie	Chester Newburgh	Brewster	New Paltz	Pleasantville

ICE removed or returned 258,085 aliens in fiscal year 2018. Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested 158,581 aliens, 90 percent of whom had criminal convictions, pending criminal charges, or previously issued final orders. The overall arrest figure represents an 11 percent increase over fiscal year 2017.

ICE is focused on removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges.

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.