ICE ERO arrests 34 at large criminal aliens on Eastern Shore of Maryland

BALTIMORE — As part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, officers of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore arrested 34 convicted criminal aliens during a two-day enforcement operation on the Maryland Eastern Shore.

"The results of this targeted enforcement operation underscore ICE's ongoing commitment to protect public safety with a focus on the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens and those that game our nation's immigration system," said Calvin McCormick, field office director for ERO Baltimore. "ERO officers will work tirelessly to pursue leads in locating, apprehending and removing these at-large criminal aliens and repeat immigration violators from our Maryland communities that have blatantly disregarded the law."

ERO Baltimore's Criminal Alien Program (CAP) led the effort concluded Tuesday, which resulted in the arrest of priority targets in multiple Maryland counties including: Annapolis (9), Berlin (1), Queen Anne (3), Talbot (11) and Wicomico (10).

The 34 criminal aliens arrested during this week's operation have criminal convictions for crimes to include driving under the influence of alcohol, theft, criminal possession of a controlled substance, robbery and escape. Two individuals were identified as illegally re-entering the country after having been removed and will be presented to the United States Attorney's Office for prosecution for illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation, a federal felony offense.

Following is the nationality breakdown of the 32 men and two woman arrested: Mexico (15), Guatemala (8), El Salvador (4), Honduras (4), Ecuador (1), Trinidad (1) and United Kingdom (1).

This enforcement action was spearheaded by ERO's CAP, which is responsible for locating, arresting and removing at-large criminal aliens. The officers who conducted the operation received substantial assistance from ERO's Law Enforcement Support Center, located in Williston, Vt.