Eight arrested in Q-C immigration operation (Quad-City Times)

Eight arrested in Q-C immigration operation

By Dustin Lemmon | Monday, October 20, 2008 7:10 PM CDT

Eight people were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Quad-City area over the weekend for failing to comply with court deportation orders.

Gail Montenegro, a spokeswoman with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago, said the fugitive operation was conducted in six states from Friday to Sunday and resulted in local arrests in Davenport, Rock Island, East Moline, Monmouth, Ill., and Rock Falls, Ill.

Montenegro would not release the names of those arrested but said they will be detained until their deportation can be arranged.

“These are people who had their day in immigration court and failed to
comply,” she said.

Those arrested included four from Mexico, two from China, one from Sierra Leone and one from Liberia, she said. Of those taken into custody, three have criminal records for crimes, including drug possession, drunken driving and domestic battery, Montenegro said.

ICE opened an office in the Quad-Cities earlier this year so agents could conduct local investigations. Montenegro said agents target specific individuals and that ICE does not conduct random immigration sweeps.