During a five-day sweep in New Jersey, from January 27 to February 1, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 115 undocumented immigrants, who were living in the U.S. illegally from 23 different countries.
ICE operations in Newark included the arrest of a 53-year-old man from Brazil who was wanted for murder in that country. An ICE spokesman did not give immediately further details on the charges or the name of the suspect.
As a result of the ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations,(ERO) it was determinded that 84% of the people arrested either had previous convictions or pending criminal charges.
Ruben Perez, acting field office director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Newark said in a statement that “This targeted enforcement action focuses on the arrest of individuals convicted of serious crimes and are a threat to public safety.”
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He also pointed out the positive impact of this iniative. “Because of the targeted efforts of these professional officers, there are 115 fewer criminals in our communities.”
Arrests made from Jan. 27 to Feb. 1 sweep included, according to ICE:
- In Fairfield, a 58-year-old Peruvian national, who has a warrant in Peru for extortion.
- In North Bergen, a 44-year-old Salvadoran national, who has a conviction for endangering the welfare of a child.
- In Elizabeth, a 28-year-old Salvadoran national, who has a pending case in El Salvador for homicide.
- In Glassboro, a 60-year-old previously deported Mexican national, who has a conviction for homicide.
- In Guttenberg, a 40-year-old Mexican national, who has convictions for child abuse, DUI (Driving Under the Influence) and domestic violence.
- In North Brunswick, a 42-year-old Jamaican national, who has convictions for drug smuggling and exporting cocaine.
- In Plainfield, a 31-year-old previously deported Guatemalan national, who has convictions for domestic violence and DUI.
- In Paterson, a 45-year-old Salvadoran national who has convictions for endangering the welfare of a child and DUI.
- In Passaic, a 50-year-old Bolivian national, who has multiple convictions for endangering the welfare of a child, hindering apprehension and DUI.
- In Pompton Plains, a 55-year-old United Kingdom national, who has convictions for arson, domestic violence and distribution of narcotics.
- In West Milford, a 46-year-old previously deported Mexican national, who has a conviction for criminal sexual contact involving a minor.
- In Paterson a 22-year-old Dominican national, who is a member of the Trinitarios gang with convictions for the offense of possession of a weapon and theft.
- In Paterson, a 20-year-old Salvadoran national, who is a member of the MS-13 gang.
Officials said that some of those arrested will be prosecuted for illegal entry and illegal re-entry after removal.