Immigrant fugitives found by ICE teams (Dallas Morning News)

Immigrant fugitives found by ICE teams [3rd item]
07:47 AM CDT on Saturday, October 11, 2008

From Staff Reports
Dianne Solís

Nearly 100 illegal immigrants were arrested this week in Dallas, Denton and Lewisville by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, agency officials said Friday.

The men and women were apprehended by ICE's "fugitive operations" teams. The teams target those who've ignored deportation orders for immigration offenses under administrative law and/or who have been convicted of criminal offenses. The teams were started in 2002 but have come under criticism for the persistent backlog of illegal immigrants who qualify.

Around the nation, there are about 570,000 people classified as immigration fugitives, a decrease of nearly 25,000, ICE officials said Friday.

Of the 99 people arrested by ICE in North Texas, about a fifth had criminal convictions.