ICE arrests over 200 illegal aliens in New York City's 'most crime-infested neighborhoods'
ICE and several federal law enforcement agencies arrested over 200 illegal aliens in an "enhanced immigration enforcement operation" in the "most crime-infested neighborhoods" in and around New York City in just one week this month.
According to a statement by ICE released on Wednesday, 206 illegal immigrants, the majority of whom have "egregious criminal histories to include manslaughter, rape, assault, drug trafficking and sex assault against minors," were apprehended as part of the operation.
The operation took place in New York City and throughout Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley region between April 6-12.
According to the ICE statement, the agency and partners targeted "egregious criminal alien offenders," including transnational criminal organizations like the recently designated international terrorist organizations MS-13 and Tren de Aragua as well as the violent Sureños and 18th Street gangs.
The agency said many of the arrests were made after local authorities in New York refused to honor immigration detainers filed by ICE and instead released the illegals back into the community.
Of the 206 arrested, ICE said 121 had major criminal convictions or are currently facing charges for murder, assault, arson, sex crimes, drug crimes and firearms crimes.
Among those arrested was a 58-year-old illegally present Mexican national named Adnan Paulino-Flores, whose criminal history includes arrests for sexual abuse of a person incapable of consent or physically helpless and subjecting another person to sexual contact without consent.
Another, a 51-year-old illegal from Ecuador named Jaime Gustavo Quizpi-Romero, has a criminal history that includes an arrest for assault with intent to cause physical injury with a weapon or instrument and strangulation, obstructing the breath and blood circulation, causing serious injury.
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Another Ecuadoran illegal named Luis Olmedo Quishpi-Poalasin, 35, has an even longer criminal history, including convictions for rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment, preventing testimony through fear of injury and communicating threats by phone, computer or mail.
The operation also resulted in the arrest of Edimar Alejandra Colmenares Mendoza, a 22-year-old Venezuelan illegal who is a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.
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Tren de Aragua – also known as "TdA" – is a violent criminal organization that has unleashed a spate of terror activities across the U.S. and is linked to several high-profile crimes, including the murder of nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia and the seizure of an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado.
Charges against Colmenares Mendoza include conspiracy, larceny and possession of stolen property.
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who is running for re-election as an independent, appeared to back ICE's arrests of criminal illegals, telling Fox News that the left is making a mistake by diverging from the sentiments of the majority of New Yorkers that illegal criminals and gang members should be taken off the streets.
"One of the big mistakes that's being made in some parts of the far-left philosophy is that ICE is a criminal organization. They are not, they are part of our law enforcement community," he said, adding, "We have to get bad, dangerous people off our streets."
Judith Almodovar, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New York City acting field office director, commented on the arrests, saying, "The success of this enhanced operation highlights the resolve of ICE and our federal partners in keeping our country safe from violent criminal aliens."
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons added that "New York is much safer today because of the hard work of ICE and our law enforcement partners."
"Throughout this enhanced enforcement operation, we targeted the most dangerous alien offenders in some of the most crime-infested neighborhoods in and around the city of New York," Lyons said. "ICE remains dedicated to our mission to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing illegal alien offenders from communities throughout this great nation."