Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, based in Miami, collaborated with Border Patrol agents to apprehend 18 criminal foreign nationals who were deemed dangerous to their communities.
The operation took place over four days, from June 26 to June 30, led by officials working at the ICE ERO Miami Stuart suboffice. Most of those arrested are citizens of Guatemala, followed by Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, and Saint Lucia.
ERO Miami Field Office Director Garrett Ripa stated, “ERO is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that protects citizens throughout Florida by arresting and removing those who pose a safety threat to our communities.”
According to the law established by Congress, ICE is obligated to arrest foreign nationals who are residing in the U.S. unlawfully. Under the current administration, the emphasis has shifted towards primarily apprehending and processing for the removal of the most violent offenders.
Among those arrested, four individuals were already in the process of being removed. They include a 36-year-old Guatemalan woman arrested for hit-and-run, child neglect, and DUI; a 27-year-old Mexican man arrested for hit-and-run, battery, and DUI; a 44-year-old Mexican man arrested for DUI, property damage, hit-and-run, and resisting an officer; and a 24-year-old Brazilian man arrested for cocaine possession. Their removal hearings are pending.
Individuals placed in removal proceedings receive due process and appear before federal immigration judges in courts within the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.
This process is separate from the ICE immigration courts within the Department of Homeland Security. After the judges evaluate each case, ICE ERO officers execute removal decisions.
In the fiscal year 2022, ICE ERO agents arrested 46,396 illegal foreign nationals with criminal records. These individuals were associated with a total of 198,498 charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses, 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses, 5,554 weapons offenses, 1,501 homicide-related offenses, and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.
ICE is also encouraging the public to report information about foreign fugitives through its tip line at 866-347-2423 (internationally 001-1802-872-6199) or online. Tips can be submitted anonymously.
Prioritizing the removal of the most dangerous criminal aliens has been a consistent policy within ICE, regardless of the presidential administration.
Recent news reports inaccurately suggested that a Supreme Court ruling would enable the agency to prioritize the removal of the most dangerous offenders.
However, the ruling allowed a new policy by the Biden administration to remain in place, as the states that challenged it lacked standing.
The September 2021 final memorandum by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, titled “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law,” significantly altered deportation policies, including limiting detainer requests for dangerous criminal aliens.
The policy also deviated from federal immigration law established by Congress, which considers illegal entry a crime and a deportable offense.
Contrary to federal law, the new policy states, “The fact that an individual is a removable noncitizen should not be the sole basis for enforcement action against them. We will exercise discretion and focus our enforcement resources in a more targeted manner. Justice and the well-being of our country demand it.”
Texas and Louisiana filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the policy but were unsuccessful.
As a result of the new policies implemented by the Biden administration, the U.S. has experienced the highest number of illegal entries in history at both the northern and southern borders.
According to CBP data, deportations decreased by two-thirds in the first fiscal year of the Biden administration. In fiscal year 2021, deportations reached the lowest level since the fiscal year 1996, despite record-high illegal entries.
