ICE Agents Arrest 52 In Santa Cruz, Monterey Counties

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Twenty-five undocumented immigrants in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were among the 52 men and two women arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, with and without criminal convictions, in a five-day operation across Central California this week.

The arrestees included seven in King City, six in Greenfield, four in Salinas, three each in Santa Cruz and Watsonville and one in Soledad. Of the 54 arrested, 45 had criminal convictions, including 16 DUI's, seven drug offenses and six domestic violence convictions.

Officials said all but one of those arrested were Mexican nationals. A Salvadoran national convicted of felony child abuse and spousal battery was arrested in King City, ICE officials said. King City police Sgt. Kip Bowen said that as usual, ICE agents had notified the department before conducting arrests in his city on Tuesday morning.

"They've been here several times in the past few years," Bowen said, noting that, like police in Salinas and Watsonville, his department does not directly participate in immigration enforcement. "We just continue
our normal patrol."

Some of the arrestees will be presented for federal prosecution for reentry after deportation, which is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, ICE spokesman James Schwab said. Those who are not being prosecuted will be processed for removal from the country.

Arrestees with outstanding deportation orders, or who returned to the U.S. illegally after deportation, are subject to immediate removal, Schwab said.

"ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers identify, arrest and remove aliens who present a danger to national security or are a risk to public safety, as well as those who enter the United States illegally or
otherwise undermine the integrity of our immigration laws and our border control efforts," David Jennings, field office director for ERO in San Francisco, said in a statement.

"Operations like this that target and arrest convicted criminals and other immigration fugitives make our communities safe for everyone," Jennings said.

ICE officials noted that since President Donald Trump signed the executive orders regarding immigration enforcement, ICE agents have arrested more than 41,000 people nationwide who are "either known or suspected" of being in the country illegally, almost 40 percent more than over the same period in 2016.

Almost three-quarters of those arrested since the executive orders were signed this year are convicted criminals, ICE officials said. During daily targeted enforcement operations nationwide, ICE
officers often encounter people who they suspect to be undocumented immigrants, who officials evaluate "on a case by case basis" and arrest "when appropriate."

By Bay City News

Photo via Renee Schiavone/ Patch