Immigration and Customs Enforcement, December 20, 2019

Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia arrested 17 criminal aliens during a 5-day enforcement operation ending Dec. 13.

Five of the criminal aliens apprehended were previously released by the city of Philadelphia due to the sanctuary city policies. The crimes of these individuals ranged from multiple DUIs to possession and intent to distribute Heroin, as well as violating U.S. immigration law.

Arrests include:

A 33 years-old citizen of Ecuador, who has pending criminal charges for DUI and Endangering the Welfare of Children;

A 30 years-old citizen of Honduras, who has been convicted of three separate DUI offenses;

A 53 years-old citizen of the Dominican Republic, who has been convicted Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin;

A 20-year old citizen of Jamaica, who has multiple convictions for Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances and Carrying Firearms without a license;

A 38 years-old citizen of India, who has pending charges of Theft and Receiving Stolen Property

“During this operation, our officers were able to locate and apprehend more than a dozen individuals who have committed crimes in our country, while seeking sanctuary in our cities,” said ICE Philadelphia Field Office Director Simona Flores-Lund. “One-third of these individuals could have been off our streets earlier, however, the city of Philadelphia believes that allowing criminals and drug dealers to roam freely in their communities outweighs cooperating with federal law enforcement.”

ICE focuses its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. ICE deportation officers carry out targeted enforcement actions every day in locations around the country 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, established Fugitive Operations Teams.