22 Criminal Aliens Arrested by ICE in Kentucky Operation

Federal officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) this week arrested 22 criminal aliens and immigration violators throughout northern Kentucky during a two-day enforcement action.

During this operation which ended Dec. 7, ERO deportation officers made arrests in the following Kentucky cities:  Covington (9), Erlanger (1), Florence (6), Newport (4) and Walton (2).  Of those arrested, 20 are men; two are women.

Most of the aliens targeted by ERO deportation officers during this operation had prior criminal histories that included convictions for the following crimes:  assaulting a police officer, child neglect, forgery, fraud and driving under the influence (DUI); four were known fugitive immigration violators, and six were arrested for illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported, which is a felony.

Aliens arrested during this operation are from Guatemala (16) Mexico (5) and Zimbabwe (1).

Following are criminal summaries of the three worst offenders arrested during this Kentucky operation:

• A 35-year-old Mexican man was arrested Dec. 7 in Florence. He was previously convicted of two felonies, one for assaulting a police officer, and the other for fleeing and evading police. Since he has been previously deported and illegally re-entered the United States, he faces prosecution for re-entering the U.S. after deportation.
• A 35-year-old Guatemalan man was arrested Dec. 6 in Covington. He has multiple DUI convictions and was previously deported and illegally re-entered the United States.  On Sept. 2, 2017, four hours after being arrested, Campbell County (Kentucky) Detention Center failed to honor an ICE detainer and released him back into the community.  He faces prosecution for re-entering the U.S. after deportation.
• A 39-year-old Guatemalan man was arrested Dec. 6 in Covington. He was previously convicted in Florida for felony fraud-impersonation.  He also has numerous DUI convictions along with two other misdemeanor convictions.
• Also on Dec. 6, a 25-year-old Mexican man was arrested in Florence. He was previously convicted of felony possession of forged documents.  He had been issued an administrative deportation order and remains in ICE custody pending his removal from the United States.

Depending on an alien’s criminality, an alien who re-enters the United States after having been previously deported commits a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.

“This operation focused on targeting immigration fugitives and criminal aliens in three Kentucky counties, but we routinely conduct operations daily,” said Ricardo Wong, field office director of ERO Chicago. “By removing criminal aliens from the streets, our ICE officers help improve public safety in these communities.”

All of the targets in this operation were amenable to arrest and removal under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.

ICE deportation officers carry out targeted enforcement operations daily nationwide as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to protect the nation, uphold public safety, and protect the integrity of our immigration laws and border controls.

These operations involve existing and established Fugitive Operations Teams.

During the targeted enforcement operations, ICE officers frequently encounter other aliens illegally present in the United States.  These aliens are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and, when appropriate, they are arrested by ICE officers.