108 Arrested in 3-Day Immigration Raid in San Diego County

More than 100 undocumented immigrants were detained by deportation agents during a three-day sting spanning both San Diego and Imperial counties, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said Thursday.ICE said the sweep that ended Thursday resulted in the arrest of 115 people who were violating federal immigration laws. Of those, 108 were arrested in San Diego County. Mistrial Declared in Murder Trial of 2-Year-Old Jahi Turner About half of the people arrested were convicted felons, according to ICE, while at least seven were arrested for re-entering the United States after being deported on a judge’s orders.ICE said the sweep were meant to target public safety threats, people who received final orders from a judge to leave the United States and those who re-entered the country after being removed, but they will not exempt immigrants who are subject to removal. Points for Drug Busts Program Unauthorized: SDPD Chief It was not clear where in San Diego County the raids occurred, but at least two arrests were made in Oceanside, including the arrest of a 43-year-old gang member from Mexico who had been deported four times and a 55-year-old Kazakhstan citizen wanted by his country for tax evasion.Detainees who re-entered the U.S. after deportation, or who had outstanding orders of removal will be immediately deported. Others will remain in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge, ICE said. Ex-Con Guilty in 2015 Kidnapping of Coach, Baseball Player Four of the individuals arrested will face federal criminal prosecution. In a statement released Thursday, ICE criticized California’s “sanctuary state” status and said the designation increases the amount of “collateral arrests.””State laws in California force ICE to focus additional resources to conduct at-large arrest in the community, putting officers, the general public and aliens at greater risk and increase the incidents of collateral arrests,” the statement said.A lawsuit filed by Attorney General Jeff Session against the state of California makes the same claim. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed sanctuary state legislation last October that barred police from asking people about their immigration status or participating in federal immigration enforcement activities. The California laws were passed in response to Trump’s promises to sharply ramp up the deportation of people living in the U.S. illegally and went into effect on Jan. 1. “These are uncertain times for undocumented Californians and their families, and this bill strikes a balance that will protect public safety, while bringing a measure of comfort to those families who are now living in fear every day,” Brown said in a statement.The declaration has been heavily criticized by the Trump Administration. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has said it will increase its presence in California, and Sessions wants to cut off funding to jurisdictions that won’t cooperate.Photo Credit: Getty Images
Source: NBC San Diego