ICE arrests 314 criminal immigrants in Florida during September sweep

Tribune staff, Published: October 8, 2015, Source

Federal officials arrested 314 criminal immigrants in Florida who pose a threat to public safety during a three-week sweep last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday.

Sixteen of those detained were previously deported and are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for felony re-entry, officials said.

The arrests spanned 30 counties, including 29 in Hillsborough, nine in Pinellas, six in Manatee, and one each in Polk and Sarasota, officials said. In Miami-Dade, 81 were taken into custody, most in the state.

Of those arrested, more than a quarter had felony convictions for serious or violent offenses such as murder, attempted murder, child sex crimes, sex offenses, weapons charges and drug violations, ICE said.

ICE said those arrested met at least one of the agency’s three enforcement priorities: threats to national security, border security or public safety; misdemeanants and new immigration violators; and a lower priority under the category of other immigration violations.

Such sweeps for criminal immigrants are not unusual, although the numbers involved in this Florida operation were significant.

Among the arrests was a Cuban citizen in Tampa who is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. In June, he was convicted of a lewd or lascivious act on a minor and was sentenced to eight years of probation. The subject is pending a removal hearing by an immigration judge, officials said.

In another case, a Mexican citizen living in Wauchula was arrested and deported after he was convicted of lewd conduct in August and sentenced to four years of community control, ICE said.

On Sept. 15, agents arrested a Jamaican citizen in West Palm Beach who had been a lawful permanent U.S. resident since 1972. The subject pleaded guilty for murder and was sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication and placed on community supervision. This person is now awaiting deportation proceedings, officials said.

“As this operation makes clear, ICE is committed to prioritizing convicted criminals and those who are public safety threats for apprehension and removal,” said Marc J. Moore, field office director for the Miami Field Office of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, which oversees Florida.

ICE said those arrested represented many countries, including Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Jamaica, Ukraine, the Bahamas, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts, Turks & Caicos, Antigua, Cuba, Canada, Czech Republic, Romania, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Latvia, Greece and Egypt.

Of those arrested, more than a quarter had felony convictions for serious or violent offenses such as murder, attempted murder, child sex crimes, sex offenses, weapons charges and drug violations, ICE said. U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT