A 36-year-old Guatemalan national was one of 32 convicted sex predators arrested during a 10-day operation on Long Island, New York, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations.
The man has a prior conviction for second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a 13-year-old girl, according to ICE. He was arrested in Brentwood on Aug. 2 and will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
The arrestees—with past criminal convictions ranging from sexual abuse to attempted rape—include nationals from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Mexico, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago. Twelve of the 32 are registered sexual offenders.
“ICE’s continuing commitment to making our communities safer is underscored by operations like this one targeting sexual offenders. These actions focus our resources on the most egregious criminals and promote public safety in the communities in which we live and work,” said Thomas Decker, New York field office director for ICE, in a statement. “ICE will not waiver in its promise to arrest and remove criminal aliens from our neighborhoods.”
The foreign nationals arrested will be processed for removal from the United States, according to ICE. The arrestees who have outstanding orders of deportation, or who returned to the United States illegally after being deported, are subject to immediate removal from the country. The remaining individuals are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge or pending travel arrangements for removal in the near future.
The operation concluded on Aug. 3.
Nationwide, ICE has made at least 70 arrests of sex offenders in the last month.
From The Epoch Times
