New Jersey ICE officers arrest 28 aliens that had been previously deported from the United States

NEWARK, NJ - Twenty-eight previously deported aliens and three immigration violators are facing deportation following a one week long enforcement operation spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers in New Jersey.

During the operation, which concluded this week, ICE made a total of 31 arrests in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Union counties.

Of the 28 individuals arrested for re-entering the United States after deportation, 16 also had prior criminal convictions. The remaining three illegal aliens were encountered by ERO officers during the course of the operation.

Their criminal histories included prior arrests and convictions for numerous violations, including assault, distribution of a controlled dangerous substance within 1000 feet from a school zone, theft, burglary, and weapons possession among others. Since many of the individuals have been previously deported, they are subject to immediate removal from the country. The remaining aliens will be held by ICE pending their hearing before the immigration judge or the completion of travel arrangements.

"ICE is focused on sensible, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes efforts first on those dangerous criminal aliens and other immigration violators who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities," said John Tsoukaris, field office director for ICE ERO in Newark. "Reducing crime at the street level and removing these individuals from the United States is a top ICE priority."

Below are four examples of those arrested during this operation. The group included 25 males and six females from nine different countries - Mexico (11), Guatemala (3), Brazil (6), Peru (2), Honduras (5), Dominican Republic (1), Guinea (1), Portugal (1) and El Salvador (1).

• A 36-year-old man from Peru who was convicted of felony unlawful sale of alcohol to a minor and was removed from the United States in 2008, and subsequently re-entered the United States.
• A 40-year-old man from the Dominican Republic who was convicted of Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance within 1000 feet from a school zone. He had been removed from the United States in 2009.
• A 48-year-old man from Mexico who was removed from the United States twice. He illegally re-entered the country and was convicted for offenses of felony threatening to kill and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose (domestic violence).
• A 33-year-old man from Mexico who was removed from the United States in 2000. He illegally re-entered the United States and was convicted of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.

The operation was spearheaded by ICE's Criminal Alien Program and Fugitive Operations Program, which are responsible for locating, arresting and removing at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives.

Re-entry into the United States after removal is a federal crime with penalties ranging from two to 20 years imprisonment.