LOS ANGELES – A total of 15 immigrants were detained in Arkansas as part of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation aimed at identifying foreigners convicted of serious crimes or who represent a danger to national security, reported Monday. that US agency.
At least nine of the detainees are of Mexican origin, including a 51-year-old woman who had been convicted of fraud.
There were also three Guatemalans, including a 26-year-old and three convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and one conviction for neglecting a child in his care.
Another Guatemalan, 39 years old and convicted of fraud, was with an outstanding deportation order.
Most of the detainees had been released from jail and were on probation or supervised release.
Mellissa Harper, director of ICE’s New Orleans Enforcement and Removal Office (ERO), said in a statement that “many of those arrested in this operation are repeat offenders who have repeatedly strained the resources of the local criminal justice system.”
“We have removed these criminals from the community and now they will face the consequences of their actions,” he added.
Arkansas state authorities assisted in the operation, which was also aimed at detaining immigrants with final orders of deportation.
In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 aliens with criminal records for deportation.