A two-week clampdown on illegal immigration in Texas has resulted in more than 170 criminal migrants being arrested and deported to Mexico, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
ICE Houston said Thursday that those arrested included two convicted on homicide-related charges, and Julian Estrada-Garcia, an alien from Mexico who had illegally entered the U.S. 39 times.
In total, 174 criminal illegal migrants, including 24 gang members, were nabbed in the operation from March 17 through March 28.
The group accounted for 610 criminal convictions with four convictions for rape or sexual assault and five convictions for child sex offenses.
Other serious offenses included 146 convictions for driving while intoxicated, 72 convictions for aggravated assault or assault, while other offenses included eight hit and runs, human smuggling convictions and drug trafficking.
Bret Bradford, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston, said the operation was a small snapshot of the work ICE agents carry out every day to enhance public safety. It follows a previous weeklong multiagency operation in the area that netted nearly 543 criminal migrants, seven of whom were gang members.
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“Each day they put their lives on the line to apprehend and remove dangerous criminal aliens, transnational gang members and foreign fugitives who have illegally entered the U.S. and are preying on innocent, hardworking Texans,” Bradford said.
“Fueled by our unwavering commitment to protect the public from harm, and united in our determination to restore integrity to our nation’s system of laws, ICE will continue to aggressively pursue and remove anyone who threatens the safety of our communities and the national security of our country.”
Many of the criminal migrants removed to Mexico during the most recent period have illegally entered the U.S. numerous times.
The 36-year-old Mexican national who entered the U.S. 39 times has been convicted of illegal entry four times and once for DWI, dangerous drugs and fraud.
A 48-year-old now-deported Mexican national was previously removed 13 times and has 25 criminal convictions, including seven for narcotics offenses.
Meanwhile, a 50-year-old Florencia 13 gang member who had been deported eight times was also booted from the country. He has convictions for domestic violence and drug possession, among other serious crimes.
Two other now-deported Mexican nationals had been removed seven times and racked up 11 DWI convictions between them.
The Trump administration has deported more than 100,000 illegal migrants in the 10 weeks since Donald Trump returned to the White House on Jan. 20, according to a New York Post report that cited a Department of Homeland Security official.
The large totals mean the president is on course to fulfill a key campaign promise of carrying out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.
Fox News’ Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.
