PHILADEPHIA
Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia arrested 17 criminal aliens during a 5-day enforcement operation ending Dec. 13, ICE announced Monday.
Five of the criminal aliens apprehended were previously released by the city of Philadelphia due to the sanctuary city policies, officials stated.
The crimes of these individuals ranged from multiple DUIs to possession and intent to distribute Heroin,as well as violating U.S. immigration law.
Arrests include:
- A 33 years-old citizen of Ecuador, who has pending criminal charges for DUI and Endangering the Welfare of Children;
- A 30 years-old citizen of Honduras, who has been convicted of three separate DUI offenses;
- A 53 years-old citizen of the Dominican Republic, who has been convicted Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin;
- A 20-year old citizen of Jamaica, who has multiple convictions for Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances and Carrying Firearms without a license;
- A 38 years-old citizen of India, who has pending charges of Theft and Receiving Stolen Property
“During this operation, our officers were able to locate and apprehend more than a dozen individuals who have committed crimes in our country, while seeking sanctuary in our cities,” said ICE Philadelphia Field Office Director SimonaFlores-Lund. “One-third of these individuals could have been off our streets earlier, however, the city of Philadelphia believes that allowing criminals and drug dealers to roam freely in their communities outweighs cooperating with federal law enforcement.”