A three-day federal immigration sweep targeting convicted criminals in the U.S. illegally resulted in 162 arrests across Southern California, federal authorities said on Thursday.

Almost 90 percent of those arrested in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties had criminal convictions, while the rest were illegal re-entrants or immigration fugitives, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Among those picked up in the sweep were a Mexican national arrested in Maywood who had been convicted of rape, and a previously deported El Salvadorian in Winnetka who had been convicted of voluntary manslaughter.

Others who were arrested had convictions for weapons violations, domestic violence, drug charges, sex crimes against children, assault against peace officers, and grand theft.

The sweep took place from Sunday through Tuesday and targeted criminals, gang members, immigration fugitives and those who re-entered the country illegally after being deported, according to ICE officials.

About half of the arrests took place in Los Angeles County.

Of the 157 men and five women taken into custody, 129 were from Mexico, 10 each were from El Salvador and Guatemala, and the rest were from Colombia, Honduras, Iran, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Romania, the United Kingdom and Venezuela.

It’s unclear how many of the 162 were in custody.

David Marin, director of Enforcement and Removal Operations for ICE in Los Angeles, said such arrests are “the most dangerous types of enforcement actions ICE officers are engaged in (on a) daily basis. …

“Thanks to their remarkable efforts, there are… fewer criminals on the streets,” he said in a statement. “We will continue to dedicate more resources to conduct at-large arrests to ensure the safety of the law-abiding citizens of our Southland communities.”

However, immigration-rights advocates said that some of those who ICE agents appear to have arrested have long-ago convictions or deportation orders.

One detainee from this week’s sweep, for example, had a conviction from more than 20 years ago, said Oswaldo Farias of the Resilience Orange County advocacy group.

As for the 10 percent arrested who had no other criminal record, Farias said, “It is becoming clear that they are casting wide nets in who they deem criminal.”

Jennaya Dunlap, deportation defense coordinator for the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, said her group records arrests nearly daily in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, averaging a couple a day.

“ICE doesn’t rest out here,” she said.

In 53 cases associated with the sweep, ICE filed detainers with local law enforcement officials notifying them of their intent to take into custody those suspected of being deportable upon release from jail.

However, local law enforcement agencies are not allowed to hold them for ICE because of California Senate Bill 54.

“When law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release serious criminal offenders onto the streets, it undermines ICE’s ability to protect public safety and carry out its mission,” ICE spokeswoman Lori K. Haley said on Thursday.

State lawmakers adopted the bill in 2017 in response to President Donald Trump’s stated plan to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities and step up immigration enforcement.

Under Senate Bill 54, local and state law enforcement authorities may not use resources, including personnel or facilities, to investigate or arrest people for federal immigration-enforcement purposes.

The law builds on the California Trust Act enacted in 2013, which prohibited local agencies from holding potentially deportable immigrants for ICE unless those detainees had been convicted of serious or violent felonies, or misdemeanors that could be classified as felonies.

In Orange County alone, the new law has enabled 414 individuals with ICE detainers to be released from jail back into the community where 45 of them have re-offended, according to Sheriff’s Department officials.

“SB54 provided the opportunity for criminals to be released back into the communities they continue to prey upon,” said Undersheriff Don Barnes of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “Open communication amongst law enforcement at the local, state and federal level is a widely accepted public-safety best practice. We must be able to communicate with our law enforcement partners on issues of public safety. Failure to do so endangers our community.”

Salvador G. Sarmiento, legislative director for the Los Angeles-based National Day Laborer Organizing Network, criticized both ICE and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for going on “a PR offensive.”

“If anything, that level of coordination between them ironically is some of the best proof why we need local and state policies that limit their cooperation – especially for public officials like Undersheriff Barnes who should remember that public officials serve Orange County residents and not a Trump-inspired agenda,” he said.

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