ICE agents arrest undocumented Woodburn man (KGW-OR)

ICE agents arrest undocumented Woodburn man 
Christine Pitawanich, KGW
7:28 AM. PST February 13, 2017

WOODBURN, Ore. -- Life for Michelle Loeza has changed dramatically in the last three days.

"We are very scared because I have undocumented family and I have undocumented friends as well and I fear for them," she said.

That fear kicked in on Thursday morning, when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent pulled over her father, Saul Loeza on Front Street in Woodburn as he was on his way to work.

Michelle said family friends called to say they thought they saw Loeza's car on the side of the road.

"Everything is inside his car. Everything was untouched," said Michelle Loeza.

She said the agent was looking for Loeza's brother who, Michelle Loeza said, had a DUII more than 10 years ago. Her father identified himself and told the agent his brother was in Mexico.

Still, he was taken into custody and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington. Michelle said her dad is an undocumented immigrant who has been in the U.S. for about 30 years working and paying his taxes. But now, there's a lot of uncertainty for the family.

"He's the one that supports the family. My mom doesn't work. My brother and I, we don't work. We're in school. He's the one that pays for our education. My brother has an illness. He was the one that paid for his medication," said Michelle, who added that her brother suffers from ADHD and anxiety.

At this point, Michelle Loeza said she's scared, and not only for her dad. She has other undocumented friends and family.

"If they are taken away, I don't know when I'm going to see them again. My dad, I don't know if he's going to be with us next week, next month or never," she said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement stepped up their efforts nationwide.

"The focus of these targeted enforcement operations is consistent with the routine, targeted arrests carried out by ICE's fugitive operations teams on a daily basis," wrote Gillian M. Christensen in a statement, the Acting Press Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.

"The president has been clear in saying that DHS should be focused on removing individuals who pose a threat to public safety, who have been charged with criminal offenses, who have committed multiple immigration violations or who have been deported and re-entered the country illegally," Christensen continued in another portion of the statement.

Hundreds of undocumented immigrants were arrested this past week across the nation in what authorities insist are "routine" law enforcement operations.

It's bolstering the hopes of many who voted for President Trump because of his tough stance on immigration.

But for many others, there's growing fear of family separation. More than 16 million people in the U.S. live in a household with at least one undocumented immigrant.

Meantime, Loeza's family maintains he is a contributing member of society and is not a criminal.

"He's so confused. He's very anxious. He just wants to be with us right now," said Michelle Loeza.

Loeza's family saw him on Saturday in Tacoma, but they say it's unclear when his case will be addressed and when they will see him next.

To help pay for legal fees, they have set up a GoFundMe account.

ICE Officer injured during arrest Friday morning (KVUE-TX)

ICE Officer injured during arrest Friday morning 
KVUE 4:37 PM. CST February 10, 2017

 AUSTIN - According to the Austin Police Department, several APD units responded to the scene after a stop initiated by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer turned physical around 6 a.m. Friday.

It happened at 13642 U.S. 183 just north of Anderson Mill Road.

KVUE News spoke with Teresa Velazquez, the mother-in-law of the man detained. Velazquez claims the man has a work visa for the United States. She said the ICE officer claimed to have a warrant and tried to detain him, so he ran. At some point, the man and the officer ended up on the ground wrestling.

According to Velazquez, the officer reported the man punched him during the scuffle.

There were originally conflicting reports about who was taken to a medical facility for evaluation. ICE now confirms one of their officers was checked out at a free-standing ER and released.

Austin police provided backup for what they called "crowd control" after the person's family members got upset.

APD Chief Manley said that officers were called to provide backup on reports that the suspect was attempting to grab the ICE officer's gun.

When APD officers arrived on the scene, they also arrested two women who had warrants out for their arrests for previous open container violations.

Velazquez also told KVUE her other son-in-law, who is undocumented but has begun immigration paperwork, has been detained by ICE.

Chief Manley said that APD was not part of the arrest or present when it happened. He does not have any information on the driver or why he was pulled over but confirmed that he was arrested by ICE officers.

KVUE has reached out to ICE, who said they are working on a statement about the incident.

Planes Showing ICE Dropping People Off in Laredo (KQNS-TX)

Planes Showing ICE Dropping People Off in Laredo
 By Valerie Gonzalez | Posted: Sat 5:49 PM, Feb 11, 2017 | Updated: Sat 10:41 PM, Feb 11, 2017

Several planes have been reported to have landed in Laredo from ICE.

This is video courtesy of Noticias en la Frontera taken at the Laredo International Airport this week. It shows a group of people being dropped off and several buses waiting for them. A source is confirming to Noticias en la Frontera that this was an operation run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They add that the people may be Central Americans being repatriated to their countries of origin via Laredo's port of entry. We've reached out to ICE for comment and are awaiting a response on whether this is part of Operation: Cross Check or is part of their normal operations.

They sent a response that reads:

"ICE regularly conducts targeted enforcement operations during which additional resources and personnel are dedicated to apprehending deportable foreign nationals. All enforcement activities are conducted with the same level of professionalism and respect that ICE officers exhibit every day. The focus of these operations is no different than the routine, targeted arrests carried out by ICE’s Fugitive Operations Teams on a daily basis.

BACKGROUND:
ICE will not confirm an operation prior to its completion, nor will ICE speculate on future operational activities.

Reports of ICE checkpoints and sweeps are false, dangerous and irresponsible. These reports create mass panic and put communities and law enforcement personnel in unnecessary danger. Any groups falsely reporting such activities are doing a disservice to those they claim to support."

ICE Rounds Up 44 Criminal Aliens in Texas Capital (Breitbart)

ICE Rounds Up 44 Criminal Aliens in Texas Capital
by BOB PRICE
11 Feb 2017

 AUSTIN, Texas — Enforcement actions underway in Texas as part of the nationwide Operation Cross Check have landed 44 criminal aliens in federal detention this week.

Following news about criminal aliens being arrested in Austin, Texas, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, Breitbart Texas reached out to the local ICE spokesperson to learn if the arrests were part of an ongoing operation. While the ICE spokesperson would not confirm or deny the operation, U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro confirmed the arrests underway in Austin and throughout South and Central Texas are part of Operation Crosscheck.

“I have been informed by ICE that the agency’s San Antonio field office has launched a targeted operation in South and Central Texas as part of Operation Cross Check,” Castro said in a written statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. “I am asking ICE to clarify whether these individuals are in fact dangerous, violent threats to our communities, and not people who are here peacefully raising families and contributing to our state. I will continue to monitor this situation.”

ICE Spokesperson Adelina Pruneda would not release any details about the criminal aliens being arrested, or any possible operation in progress when contacted by Breitbart Texas.

She did confirm that one ICE officer was injured in Austin while attempting to take a criminal alien into custody. The alien’s family allegedly attempted to intervene in the arrest. The officer received minor injuries in the scuffle. He was transported to a local emergency clinic where he was treated and released.

The roundup of criminal aliens has sparked protests in the Capital City. One twitter user posted a video from an overnight protest march: [VIDEO]

More than 2,000 criminal aliens were rounded up during Operation Crosscheck in 2015. 1,000 of the captured criminal aliens were targeted because they had felony convictions. Those range from voluntary manslaughter, child pornography, robbery, kidnapping and rape. Fifty-eight of those captured were known gang members, while eighty-nine were convicted sex offenders.

President Donald Trump stated, during his campaign for president, that he would prioritize the arrest and deportation of criminal aliens. However, ICE roundup operations of this nature are regularly scheduled during the first part of the year.

The Mexican consul general in San Antonio claimed that Operation Crosscheck is underway in six different states, the Austin American-Statesman reported. ICE agents have arrested 44 criminal aliens in the past two days.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.

ICE hold place on murder, cock-fighting suspects (San Antonio Express-News)

ICE hold place on murder, cock-fighting suspects
By Catherine Dominguez, cdominguez@hcnonline.com
Updated 9:55 pm, Saturday, February 11, 2017

 The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office arrested an 18-year-old man and placed him on an Immigration and Customers Enforcement hold due to a murder charge stemming from the death of a Harris County man.

Bryan Rafael Rodriguez-Valtierra was booked into the Montgomery County Jail without bond. He is charged with the Feb. 7 murder of 49-year-old Pete Figueroa Jr. Rodriguez-Valtierra's immigration status has been determined to be "illegal," according to the MCSO. Pursuant to federal law and guidance from the State of Texas, ICE was contacted regarding his status and requested that he be held pending federal involvement.

The four individuals arrested for cock-fighting Feb. 5, 2017, at 27300 Royal Coach in Conroe, also are on an ICE "hold" due to their "illegal" status, the MCSO stated.

Sheriff Rand Henderson and members of his staff will meet with ICE officials Feb. 23 to discuss the agency's official entry into the 287(g) Program. It is one of ICE's top partnership initiatives, allows a state and local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint Memorandum of Agreement. The state or local entity receives delegated authority for immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions.

Henderson has publicly supported the detainer of illegal immigrants who have committed crime.

Regarding the murder arrest, around 12:21 a.m. Tuesday, deputies responded to Captain D's Restaurant, located at 23811 Interstate 69 in Porter regarding a report of a suspicious person.

MCSO Communications received a 911 call from a caller who reported he saw a vehicle driving without a front tire, north on the I-69 frontage road near North Park Drive, pull into the back parking lot of the Captain D's Restaurant. Wanting to offer help, the caller said he stopped to check on the driver and offer his assistance. The driver, who was later identified as Rodriguez-Valtierra, allegedly asked the caller to drop him off at the intersection of FM 1314 and Timberland Drive.

The caller gave Rodriguez-Valtierra a ride, but reported he was acting strange during the trip. Out of concern, the caller decided to contact MCSO to make a report.

Once on scene, deputies found a deceased male in the front passenger seat of the vehicle in question. At that time, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Detectives, Crime Scene Investigators, representatives from the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and the Texas Rangers were called to the scene. The victim was identified as Figueroa Jr, of Harris County.

On Friday investigators secured a murder warrant for the arrest of Rodriguez-Valtierra and, at 7:45 p.m., Rodriguez-Valtierra was arrested at 2801 N. Main St. in Liberty with the assistance of the Texas Rangers, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office S.W.A.T, and the Gulf Coast Violent Offender Task Force. Rodriguez-Valtierra was transported to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Jail Division where he was booked for murder.

Anyone with additional information regarding the crime, or the events leading up to it, is asked to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office at 936-760-5800 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-392-STOP (7867).