Immigration Arrests 78 Convicted Illegal Aliens In Colo., Wyo. (KMGH-CO)

Immigration Arrests 78 Convicted Illegal Aliens In Colo., Wyo.
Largest Immigration Operation In Colorado This Year

Posted by Wayne Harrison, Web Editor
POSTED: 3:17 pm MDT September 28, 2010

DENVER -- In the largest immigration operation in Colorado this year, 78 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators were arrested during a three-day targeted enforcement operation by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations.

During the operation, which ended Sept. 23, ICE officers located and arrested 64 aliens with prior criminal convictions, including five gang members.

Some of the criminal aliens taken into custody had prior convictions for serious or violent crimes, such as homicide, selling illegal drugs, sexual crimes against children, resisting arrest and assault, vehicle theft and drunken-driving convictions, according to ICE.

In addition, 12 of the individuals ICE officers took into custody were immigration fugitives, aliens with outstanding orders of deportation who had failed to leave the country, the agency said.

Nine of those arrested will be presented to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution for illegally re-entering the United States after they had been previously deported, which is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, according to ICE.

Arrests were made in Aurora, Avon, Akron, Denver, Fruita, Sheridan, Glenwood Springs, Longmont, Greeley, Grand Junction, Clifton, Montrose, Northglenn, New Castle, Cortez, Lakewood, Sterling, Kiowa, Westminster, Fredrick, Edwards, Silverthorne, Platteville, Yuma, Thornton and Centennial in Colorado, as well as Wamsutter, Wyo.

"The fugitive and criminal aliens we targeted and arrested in this operation help make our Colorado communities safer," said John Longshore, field office director for ICE ERO in Denver. "Arresting fugitives and criminal aliens remains an ICE priority."

Of those arrested, 73 were men and five were women; 63 are from Mexico, three are from El Salvador and three are from Honduras. Citizens of the following countries represented one arrest each: Bulgaria, Colombia, Indonesia, Liberia, Mauritania, Poland, Senegal, Venezuela and United Kingdom.