ICE Archives - The Ohio Star

Rep. Ilhan Omar Urges Biden Admin to End Contracts Between ICE and Prisons, Calling Treatment of Immigrants ‘Systemic Abuse’

March 17, 2021March 16, 2021 Ohio Star Staff

Rep. Ilhan Omar urged President Joe Biden’s administration in a letter Monday to end Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) contracts with prisons and jails.

The letter calls for Biden to issue an executive order to end ICE’s contracts with state, county and local jails due to the treatment of the detained immigrants and the facilities’ conditions. The Minnesota Democrat called the conditions of the facilities “systemic abuse.”

“Conditions in the municipal, county, and state jails and prisons contracting with ICE to detain immigrants mirror the systemic abuses in privately operated immigration detention facilities, including mental neglect, long term use of solitary confinement, sexual assault, and lack of access to legal counsel,” Omar wrote in the letter.

ICE Arrested Significantly Fewer Illegal Immigrants Due to COVID-19

December 27, 2020December 26, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Officials arrested 30% fewer individuals in 2020 than they did last year, in part because of COVID-19, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Wednesday.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations officials made 103,603 arrests this year and deported 185,884 individuals, according to ICE. Around 90% of the aliens who were arrested had criminal convictions or charges, and 92% of those deported had prior or pending criminal charges.

ICE Arrested More Than 150 Aliens in 10 Days

December 26, 2020December 25, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Over 150 aliens, including 117 who said they would voluntarily leave the U.S. were arrested during a 10-day enforcement period, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Monday.

The national enforcement operation, “Operation Broken Promise” found that 71% of the aliens arrested from Dec. 7 through Dec. 17 had criminal convictions or pending charges, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Over 30 Illegal Immigrants in Texas Who ‘Threaten Public Safety’ Arrested in One Week

November 2, 2020November 1, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

A five-day operation in south Texas resulted in 0ver 30 arrests of illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds deemed possible public security threats, border officials announced Thursday.

The operation targeted illegal immigrants who allegedly pose a threat to public safety and are subject to deportation, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Court Order Forced ICE to Release 250 Criminal Immigrants

October 30, 2020October 29, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Tuesday that it released 250 immigrants with criminal histories back into communities in response to a coronavirus-related order issued by the Central District of California, Fox News reports.

The news came a week after U.S. Judge Terry Hatter ordered the agency either release or deport detainees at the Adelanto ICE processing center in Southern California in order to halt the spread of coronavirus infections. According to the order, starting from October 19 they must reduce the population at the facility by at least 50 detainees a day, until the population is at or below 475 detainees. At the time of the order, about 750 people were detained there.

Commentary: Let Them Call You Racist

October 17, 2020October 16, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

All’s fair in love and war, unless what one has to say threatens war on the beloved pieties of progressivism. Stephanie Martinez and Lauren Witzke learned this lesson recently.

Martinez is a pro-Trump student at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. In early April, she joined the LMU student government as a “senator for diversity and inclusion.” But Martinez turned out to be a little too diverse in her views for her peers.

ICE Arrests Over 125 Illegal Immigrants Who Were Released Under California Sanctuary Policies, Report Says

October 9, 2020October 8, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended over 125 illegal immigrants in California who were released under sanctuary city policies from Sept. 18 to Oct. 3, the Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation targeted illegal immigrants who were arrested and released by state or local law enforcement agencies, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). More than 95% of the illegal immigrants were previously convicted of a crime or had pending criminal charges for crimes including homicide, sexual assault, sexual offenses against children, and domestic violence.

ICE’s New Acting Director Plans to Change Public Perception of the Agency

October 5, 2020October 4, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Tony Pham is focused on changing the narrative of Immigration and Customs Enforcement by highlighting the work agents do every day, he told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an exclusive interview.

Closing his third full week as the senior official performing the duties of the director of ICE, Pham told the DCNF that he plans to focus on addressing the public misconception of the agency and its employees by promoting discussion around the “remarkable work that the men and women of ICE do every day.”

ICE Arrests Over 2,000 Illegal Immigrants with Violent Criminal Convictions or Charges

September 5, 2020September 4, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 2,000 illegal immigrants who have criminal histories involving victims between July 13 and Aug. 20, ICE announced Monday.

The immigrants who are illegally living in the U.S. are subject to removal because of their previous arrests or charges connected to victims, according to ICE. Of those arrested for immigration-related charges, around 85% had pending criminal charges or previous criminal convictions.

LA Sheriff Refuses to Surrender 25,000 Illegal Immigrant Detainees to ICE: Report

August 26, 2020August 25, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has refused more than 25,000 requests to surrender illegal immigrants detained in its jails to immigration agents in the 2020 fiscal year, Fox News reported.

LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has blocked the transfer of illegal immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to concerns over the conditions at ICE facilities and the possible impact on ongoing criminal investigations, Fox News reported.

DNC Panel Features ‘Mermaid Queen-King’ Who Calls for the Abolition of ICE, Police, and Prisons

August 21, 2020August 20, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

The Democratic National Convention on Tuesday featured a panelist who identifies as a “nonbinary/gender transcendent mermaid Queen-King” and who called for the abolition of the police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and prisons.

According to the panelist’s Wake Forest University bio, J Mai is a “Black-Vietnamese, transgender nonbinary/gender transcendent mermaid Queen-King,” who recently became a “licensed minister in the Progressive National Baptist Church.”

Montgomery County Gave ICE a 28-Minute Warning Before Releasing Illegal Immigrant Charged with Second Degree Rape

August 13, 2020August 12, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, gave Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a 28-minute notice before releasing an illegal immigrant charged with second-degree rape and sexual abuse back into the public, according to county data obtained by the Immigration Reform Law Institute.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich had pledged to allow more cooperation with ICE on Nov. 4 when he rolled back a sanctuary policy he signed into law three months prior that prohibited county officials from working with ICE.

Harvard, MIT Sue to Block ICE Rule on International Students

July 9, 2020July 8, 2020 The Associated Press

Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging the Trump administration’s decision to bar international students from staying in the U.S. if they take classes entirely online this fall.

The lawsuit, filed in Boston’s federal court, seeks to prevent federal immigration authorities from enforcing the rule. The universities contend that the directive violates the Administrative Procedures Act because officials failed to offer a reasonable basis justifying the policy and because the public was not given notice to comment on it.

ICE Agents Arrest Convicted Killer of NYPD Officer

May 27, 2020May 26, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took custody of a Panamanian national earlier in May, over 40 years after he was convicted of killing a New York City police officer.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division assumed custody of Carlos Celestino Payne-Archer, a 64-year-old man and Panamanian national, on Thursday, the agency announced in a press release. The apprehension came after Payne-Archer was convicted of first-degree murder of an NYPD detective in March 1978.

Illegal Alien Arrested in Deadly-Hit-And Run as County Looks to Buck ICE

May 23, 2020May 22, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

An illegal alien was arrested in a Northern Virginia suburb for his alleged involvement in a deadly hit-and-run accident and handed over to immigration officials, but local leaders are looking to scrap a program that allows law enforcement to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Officials in Prince William County, Virginia, have debated ending a years-long partnership program with federal immigration authorities, the 287(g) program. The introduction of new jail board appointees is expected to lead to the end of this partnership, according to proponents of the program.

ICE Program Collects DNA Samples of Illegal Aliens

May 17, 2020May 16, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

A division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun collecting DNA samples of illegal aliens in its custody and storing the information in a national database.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations launched a pilot program earlier in May in Dallas, Texas, that collects the DNA samples of individuals arrested and placed into its custody, the agency confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation on Friday. The launch of the pilot program followed backlash from critics who chastised the agency for not implementing it sooner.

First Person in ICE Detention Dies of Coronavirus Complications

May 8, 2020May 7, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

A 57-year-old man from El Salvador became the first individual in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody to die from COVID-19 complications.

Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia passed away early Wednesday morning after being hospitalized and on a ventilator for roughly a week, The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported. Escobar Mejia, a detainee at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, was one of hundreds of individuals in ICE custody who have contracted the novel coronavirus.

Trump’s Win with Appeals Court Prevents Release of 250 ICE Detainees

May 7, 2020May 6, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

A panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has overruled a lower court’s order to reduce the detention population of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility by the hundreds.

ICE Detainees Refuse Coronavirus Tests, Rush Officers and Trash Detention Center

May 4, 2020May 3, 2020 Admin

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees in Massachusetts rushed officers, barricaded themselves inside the facility and caused more than $25,000 worth of damage after being told they would be transferred to a medical wing of the facility and tested for coronavirus, authorities said.

Roughly 10 inmates at an immigration detention center in Dartmouth, Massachusetts reported symptoms of COVID-19 to medical personnel, according to a press release from the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office.

ICE Arrests Illegal Alien Wanted for Allegedly Raping a Minor in His Home Country

April 25, 2020April 24, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

A special task force of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) located and arrested an illegal alien wanted in his home country of El Salvador for allegedly raping a child.

Legal Groups Sue ICE to Force Release of Illegal Immigrants in Ohio

April 13, 2020April 12, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

A group of legal organizations has sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seeking the release of illegal immigrants detained in Ohio.

The ACLU National Prison Project, the ACLU of Ohio, and the lam firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP announced Friday that they have filed a lawsuit against ICE “on behalf of immigrants detained in crowded facilities in Geauga and Seneca Counties.”

The lawsuit seeks the release of illegal immigrants who are in civil detention and at high risk of serious illness or death in the event that they contract COVID-19.

Judge Tosses Out ACLU’s Attempt to Stop a County from Cooperating with ICE

April 10, 2020April 9, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

A judge in Colorado dismissed a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the Teller County Sheriff’s Office that argued it was breaking the law by cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The State Department Rescued Over 50,000 Americans Since Coronavirus Crisis Began

April 10, 2020April 9, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

The State Department has repatriated more than 50,000 U.S. citizens stranded around the world since the coronavirus began, the administration revealed on Wednesday.

ICE Officers Arrest Illegal Alien Gang Member Wanted for Murder

April 9, 2020April 8, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested a gang member living in the United States unlawfully shortly after an arrest warrant was issued on him for capital murder.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers on Thursday apprehended Jonathan Alexander Gonzalez-Rosales, a 25-year-old Salvadoran national and illegal alien, according to a press release from the agency. A member of the 18th Street Gang — a transnational criminal organization — Gonzalez-Rosales had been on the run from U.S. authorities for nearly two years.

ICE Is Using Its Deportation Flights to Bring Home Americans Stuck Abroad

March 30, 2020March 29, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

ICE Air Operations, the air transportation arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has so far rescued 466 U.S. citizens stranded in the Northern Triangle region of Central America amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Following orders of final removal, ICE deported Salvadoran and Honduran nationals back to their home countries on Friday. On the return leg of these flights, the agency took aboard U.S. citizens who were stranded due to COVID-19 lockdowns, according to an ICE press release.

Ilhan Omar Is Demanding A Freeze on Deportations

March 22, 2020March 21, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar is leading the call for a complete freeze on immigration enforcement measures across the country, citing the coronavirus pandemic as the reason.

Judge Rejects Demand to Release Illegal Aliens in ICE Detention

March 21, 2020March 20, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

A federal judge swatted away an attempt by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to release a group of illegal aliens in a Washington state detention center amid the coronavirus outbreak.

ACLU Lawsuit Demands ICE Release Illegal Aliens ‘At Risk’ of Coronavirus Complications

March 18, 2020March 17, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), demanding the agency release all detainees deemed to be “at risk” of health complications, should they contract the COVID-19 virus.

ICE Chief Tears Into Chicago Mayor for Standing by Sanctuary Policies After Alleged Sexual Abuse of 3-Year-Old

March 15, 2020March 14, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

The chief of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pulled no punches when reacting to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s defense of her sanctuary agenda after an illegal alien, who was wanted by the agency, allegedly abused a child.

ICE Arrests Alleged Illegal Alien Rapist After Boston Authorities Released Him

March 11, 2020March 10, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have arrested an illegal alien living who was charged with rape and larceny in Boston, and is believed to have been living in the U.S. unlawfully for nearly 20 years.

Illegal Alien Spotted on Greyhound Bus Two Weeks After Company Banned Border Patrol Inspections

March 8, 2020March 7, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Roughly two weeks after Greyhound announced it would no longer allow Border Patrol agents to conduct immigration checks without a warrant, a previously deported illegal alien was found on one of its buses.

San Francisco Ignored ICE And Released an Illegal Alien Who Had Been Arrested Seven Times

March 8, 2020March 7, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

San Francisco ignored multiple pleas by federal immigration authorities to transfer custody of a criminally convicted illegal alien, revealing how far city leaders will go to refuse cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE Catches Illegal Alien Accused of Child Rape After NYC Authorities Released Him From Custody

March 5, 2020March 4, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

An illegal alien charged with raping a child was released by New York City authorities because of the city’s sanctuary policies, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were able to apprehend him shortly afterward.

Illegal Alien Wanted by ICE Arrested for Allegedly Abusing A Toddler After Chicago Ignored Detainer Request

March 2, 2020March 1, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

An illegal alien arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a toddler would have been in federal custody had the Chicago Police Department in 2019 honored an immigration detainer on him and not release him back into the community.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an immigration detainer for Christopher Puente, 34-year-old Mexican national living in the U.S. illegally, with the Chicago Police Department in June 2019 upon his arrest for theft. However, that detainer request was ignored, and Puente has since been charged with sexually abusing a child, according to a press release by the agency.

Trump Admin Can Withhold Funds From Sanctuary Cities, Appeals Court Finds

February 27, 2020February 26, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the White House can withhold funds from sanctuary cities, delivering a victory for President Donald Trump’s fight with jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Over 3,600 Law Enforcement Agencies Across the US Were Given ICE Detainers

February 26, 2020February 25, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

More than 3,600 law enforcement agencies across the U.S. were handed detainers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the last fiscal year, indicating how necessary local and state cooperation is for federal immigration authorities.

San Francisco Sheriff Says His Department Won’t Cooperate With ICE

February 23, 2020February 22, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Law enforcement in San Francisco will no longer be cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, per a directive by San Francisco’s newly elected sheriff.

ICE Arrests Illegal Aliens in California Courthouse, Flouting New State Law

February 22, 2020February 21, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

US immigration agents arrested two illegal aliens at a Northern California courthouse this week, ignoring a new state law requiring a judicial warrant to make immigration arrests inside courthouses.

‘Pandering to the Left’: Former ICE Chief Reacts to 2020 Democrats’ ‘Flip-Flop’ On Immigration

February 19, 2020February 18, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan accused 2020 Democrats of “pandering to the left” when discussing changes in their immigration positions.

ICE Slaps Another ‘Sanctuary’ State with Subpoenas to Force Cooperation

February 18, 2020February 18, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE) served immigration subpoenas to the State of Connecticut demanding information on three criminal illegal aliens, whom local officials refused to hand over and instead released back into the community, ICE said in a statement.

Justice Department Sues New Jersey Over Immigration Policy

February 16, 2020February 15, 2020 Ohio Star Staff

The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the State of New Jersey, Gov. Philip Murphy and Attorney General Gurbir Grewal for refusing to provide information to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) related to the immigration status and release dates of individuals in their custody.