ICE arrests 49 in Kentucky area during month-long enforcement action
CHICAGO — Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 331 individuals during a monthlong operation targeting criminal aliens and other immigration violators in six Midwestern states.
This operation, which began May 9 and concluded Monday, is the latest effort by ICE to arrest and remove convicted criminal aliens. The arrests were made in the following six states: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri.
ERO officers based in Kentucky arrested 49 individuals. Thirty-three of the 49 have been convicted of crimes in the United States including: grand theft auto, battery, sexual abuse, aggravated assault, DUI, hit and run. The remaining 16 are agency enforcement priorities as recent border crossers.
The 46 males and three females arrested in the Louisville area are from the following countries: Mexico (37), Guatemala (6), Zimbabwe (2), and one each from El Salvador, Ghana, Honduras and Mauritania. The majority of the arrests were made in Louisville (16) and Lexington (12), with additional arrests in the following Kentucky communities: Bowling Green, Covington, Crestwood, Elizabeth, Fairdale, New Albany, Nicholasville, Scottsburg, Sharpsburg, Shelbyville, Taylorsville, and Versailles. One arrest was made in Clarksville, Indiana.
Following are two case examples of those arrested in Kentucky during this operation:
- A 30-year-old Mexican national with prior convictions for DUI, shoplifting, 4th degree sexual assault 4th, battery, and domestic violence. He was arrested May 11 in Lexington and remains in ICE custody pending deportation proceedings.
- A 43-year-old Mexican national with prior convictions for domestic violence, assault, aggravated assault-police strong arm, and terroristic threatening. She was arrested May 11 in Lexington and was deported to Mexico June 13.
“Our dedicated officers strive to make our communities safer by arresting convicted criminal aliens and removing them from the United States," said Ricardo Wong, field officer director for ERO Chicago. "By focusing our resources on the most egregious offenders, we ensure the very best use of our resources while immediately improving public safety.”
Those arrested who have outstanding orders of deportation, or who returned to the United States illegally after being deported, are subject to immediate removal from the country. The remaining individuals are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge, or pending travel arrangements for removal in the near future.
All of those apprehended during this operation were immigration enforcement priorities as outlined in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson’s 2014 memorandum.
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