Federal agents capture fugitives (Houston Chronicle)

Federal agents capture fugitives
89 immigrants arrested in surge await processing

By JAMES PINKERTON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
May 9, 2008, 10:52PM

Government agents will work today processing 89 illegal immigrants arrested in Houston during a four-day "surge" operation this week, an effort to reduce a backlog of 30,000 immigration fugitives in the area, officials said.

"We're continuing to move forward with their removal process," said Greg Palmore, spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houston.

"We're doing this every day; this is not an isolated surge," he added. "There are four active fugitive operations teams that are out there working in the same capacity every day."

The operation involved four teams of agents from the ICE office in Houston, and eight more teams brought in from offices in Dallas, San Antonio and El Paso, Palmore said. About 60 agents took part in the operation.

During the operation, which began early Tuesday and ended Friday, a total of 89 illegal immigrants were arrested, including 28 who had criminal convictions. Of the total apprehended, 77 had orders of removal and another 12 were encountered during the operation, Palmore said.

Teams of agents spread out across Houston during the operation, arresting immigrants at their homes or their jobs.

One of those arrested Tuesday has been hospitalized, and is in fair condition, after medical screening at ICE processing facilities in north Houston indicated he was suffering from hypertension.

Fugitive operation teams in the Houston area have "30,000 cases assigned to this area and their goal is to get them all, or as many as they can, especially the criminals," Palmore said.

He was referring to immigration absconders who reside in the 52-county Houston field office's area of responsibility, which extends from the Louisiana border to Corpus Christi.

Kenneth Landgrebe field office director for ICE detentions and removals in Houston, stressed the operation was not part of "mass raids."

"These are not roundups," he said. "These are targeted individuals that have had their day in court and have refused or failed to leave as the courts have ordered."

Landgrebe said the removal operations are part of immigration enforcement mandated by Congress, which has provided funding to greatly increase the number of ICE fugitive teams across the country.