Two-thirds of ICE roundup arrests are legal US citizens

Under the new administration, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement has adopted a more aggressive approach and apprehended nearly 1,400 people who they believed to be eligible for deportation.

Unfortunately for the President, more than two-thirds of those arrested won’t be able to be deported because they are United States citizens, according to Vocativ.

President Trump ran on a platform that promised to round up all of the ‘bad hombres’ illegally plaguing the United States.

He infamously categorized immigrants, specifically Mexicans, as rapists, murderers and gang-bangers, and said that when he was elected he would send them all back across the border.

The agency announced on Thursday that ‘Project New Dawn,’  which is part of ICE’s ‘Operation Community Shield’ program, targeted street gangs between March 26 and May 6, leading to the arrests of 1,378 people nationwide.

Authorities said that these individuals are involved in ‘transnational criminal activity, including drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human smuggling and sex trafficking, murdering and racketeering.’

However, of those arrested, 933 are United States citizens. The other 445 are from 21 different countries.

Additionally, of that 445, 280 were arrested solely on administrative immigration violations, meaning that they were only apprehended for being undocumented.

Therefore, out of the 1,387 alleged ‘bad hombres’ who the new administration set up to deport, only 165 were undocumented immigrants who committed crimes beyond entering the country illegally.

Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan defended the new aggressive approach, saying: ‘Gangs threaten the safety of our communities, not just in major metropolitan areas but in our suburbs and rural areas too.

‘Gang-related violence and criminal activity present an ongoing challenge for law enforcement everywhere. Our efforts to dismantle gangs are much more effective in areas where partnerships with local law enforcement is strongest,’

According to the ICE, 1,095 of those people arrested in the six-week period were confirmed members of the Bloods, Crips, Ma-13 and the Surenos.

None of the remaining 283 individuals arrested claimed any gang affiliation, but were rounded up on ‘either criminal or administrative charges’.

In addition to arrests, ICE and partnering law enforcement agencies seized 283 fire arms and more than $491,000 in cash.  They also seized 790 ounces of cocaine, 546 ounces of methamphetamine, 113 ounces of heroin and more than an ounce of fetanyl.

Source: Two-thirds of ICE roundup arrests are legal US citizens | Daily Mail Online