Some 81 illegal aliens arrested in Palm Beach County (Boca Raton News)

Some 81 illegal aliens arrested in Palm Beach County
Published April 11th, 2008

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Some 81 illegal immigrants in Palm Beach County were arrested last week as part of an operation targeting immigration fugitives. A total of more than 330 arrests resulted in Miami, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Involved in the two-week operations were officials from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Miami Fugitive Operations Team, and officials from the ICE Florida Field Office of Detention and Removal (DRO).
During the two-week operation, which concluded last Friday, ICE deportation officers located and arrested 332 immigration violators: (147) in Miami-Dade, (104) in Broward and (81) in Palm Beach, said DRO Director Michael Rozos.
“As a nation, we must protect the integrity of our immigration system,” said Rozos. “While we are a welcoming country, we expect those wanting to immigrate here to do so in a safe, legal and orderly manner. If you choose to disregard our laws, you will be found, arrested and returned to your home country.”
Of those arrested, 300 were immigration fugitives, aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation. The remaining 32, were immigration violators who are amenable to removal and who have been convicted of various crimes.
Sixty-eight of those arrested were processed for removal and placed on the Alternatives to Detention Program (ATD). In these cases, ICE DRO officers exercised prosecutorial discretion by placing aliens with final orders of removal, which were verified to be sole caregivers or as having medical concerns, on orders of supervision.
The ATD Program was originally created to ensure appearance at immigration hearings by aliens who were determined not to pose a threat to national security or community safety and who did not pose an unacceptable flight risk. This program has provided effective community based supervision to eligible aliens. Deportation officers will verify the departure of those placed on the orders of supervision.
The Fugitive Operations Program was established in 2003 to eliminate the nation’s backlog of immigration fugitives and ensure that deportation orders handed down by immigration judges are enforced. Earlier this year, the nation’s fugitive alien population showed its first-ever decline. Estimates now place the number of immigration fugitives in the United States at slightly under 597,000, a decrease of more than 35,000 since October 2006.
Those arrested represent countries around the globe including Ukraine, Angola, Surinam, Mauritania, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Canada. ICE’s Fugitive Operations Program is an integral part of the comprehensive multi-year plan launched by the Department of Homeland Security to secure America’s borders and reduce illegal migration. That strategy seeks to gain operational control of both the northern and southern borders, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly and efficiently. The plan also involves strong interior enforcement efforts, including enhanced worksite enforcement and intensified efforts to track down and remove illegal aliens inside the United States.