More than 70 South Texas immigrants arrested during ICE operation
McALLEN — U.S. customs officials arrested more than 70 illegal immigrants in South Texas last week during an operation targeting foreign nationals with violent criminal histories — the largest such undertaking ever carried out by the agency in the state.
More than 284 illegal immigrants were arrested in Texas during the enforcement surge, according to a statement issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
About 160 of those arrested have violent criminal histories — with charges such as homicide, assault and robbery — and more than 20 have convictions for sexual offenses. Of those arrested, 18 have been removed from the United States.
In the South Texas area, which stretches from the Rio Grande Valley to San Antonio, about 42 of the 73 people arrested had violent criminal histories, including charges for sexual assault of a child, drug trafficking and human smuggling.
The operation involved more than 280 federal and local law enforcement offices and agents, according to the ICE statement.
Most of the arrests occurred in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where authorities detained 119 immigrants with criminal histories.
Those arrested include 259 men and 25 women from more than 22 different nations in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. At least 23 face federal prosecution for illegally re-entering the country after being formally deported due to serious criminal histories and prior immigration records, ICE said in the statement.
A conviction for felony re-entry carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Notable arrests include:
Ruiz Pina, from Mexico, arrested Wednesday in Houston. He has convictions for unlawfully possessing a weapon, assault causing bodily injury, and drunken driving. Pina was ordered deported by a federal immigration judge in Houston in 2005. He will remain incarcerated without bond at the Houston Contract Detention Facility pending removal from the United States. Angel Gonzalez, from Mexico, arrested Wednesday at his Austin home. He has a previous criminal history including a conviction for sexual abuse of a child for which he was sentenced to three years in prison. Authorities deported Gonzalez, who faces prosecution for re-entry after deportation. Juan Jose Lopez-Juarez, 36, from Mexico, arrested at his home in Dallas. He is wanted in Michoacán, Mexico, for allegedly shooting and killing a 17-year-old boy while the teen’s mother pleaded for his life. Lopez-Juarez was originally deported in June 2000. ICE found him through an anonymous tip.
