MOUNT VERNON — The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Operation Cross Check yielded 137 arrests from targeted enforcement action which started Friday and wrapped up late Monday.
The operation, which targeted fugitives, those who have re-entered the United States after being deported and those who committed crimes while in the United States, was a sweep of central and southern Ohio.
“Removing criminal aliens is a top ICE priority,” said Rebecca Adducci, field office director for the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations for Michigan and Ohio, in a press release issued Tuesday. “ICE’s Operation Cross Check targets cases involving immigration violators who pose a threat to national security and community safety. Foreign nationals who violate our laws and commit crimes in our communities will be found and removed.”
According to Adducci, 25 of those arrested face federal prosecution because of prior immigration arrest records and “serious criminal history.”
Those arrested on current warrants will be returned to the law enforcement agency issuing the warrant. They will remain under detainers in order to return to ICE custody following the conclusion of their criminal cases.
Those who returned to the United States after previous deportation, or those who have current orders for deportation, face immediate removal from the U.S.
“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 release stated.
Operation Cross Check was designed to round up criminal aliens and those who failed to leave the country after deportation orders were administered by the U.S. immigration courts.
Assistance during the enforcement actions was provided by the Fugitive Operations Support Center. FOSC coordinated research to determine the accuracy of leads and criminal history.
A message left for an ICE public affairs officer requesting more specific information on the Mount Vernon arrests was unreturned at press time.
Locally, ICE was assisted by the Mount Vernon Police Department and the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office.
More than 136,000 criminal aliens were removed from the United States in 2009. ICE reports that as a record number.
