In a series of sweeping nationwide operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Thursday arrested some of the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens convicted of heinous crimes.
Among those captured was Jose Solorzano-Felix, of Mexico, who was apprehended in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Solorzano-Felix was previously convicted for the attempted murder of a federal law enforcement officer, use of a firearm during and in the commission of a felony, and being an illegal immigrant in possession of a handgun.
In Santa Clara, California, ICE agents took Paulino Lugos-Perez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, into custody following his conviction for lewd or lascivious acts with a child.
Meanwhile, in Forsyth County, North Carolina, authorities arrested Adrian Valdez-Lopez, a Mexican national convicted of second-degree forcible rape.
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The crackdown also targeted violent gang affiliates, resulting in the Pasadena, California, arrest of Edgar Josue Centeno, a Honduran national and member of the Latin Kings gang convicted of assault with a deadly weapon.
In Mineola, New York, agents arrested Rodolfo Umana, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who had been convicted of burglary.
“Yesterday, the brave men and women of ICE risked their lives to arrest illegal criminal aliens convicted for attempted murder of a federal law enforcement officer, lewd or lascivious acts with a child, rape, assault with a deadly weapon, and burglary,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acting assistant Secretary Lauren Bis wrote in a statement.
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The arrests represent a targeted effort to remove dangerous illegal immigrants from the country, with Bis emphasizing that under President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, “ICE will continue to arrest and remove these public safety threats from our communities.”
DHS said nearly 70% of ICE arrests are those of illegal immigrants who have already been charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.
“Thanks to our ICE law enforcement, our communities are safer,” Bis wrote.
