Gregory Bull / AP
In this July 8, 2019, file photo, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer looks on during an operation in Escondido, Calif.
Published Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020 | 3:47 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020 | 8:05 p.m.
At least three undocumented Mexican nationals with criminal histories were taken into custody by immigration agents in Las Vegas during a recent weeks-long operation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Tuesday.
They had prior criminal convictions, including two of them on charges of attempted lewdness with a child under 14 and a man sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter, authorities said.
The three publicized Las Vegas arrests here were part of an operation that netted more than 2,000 arrests from mid-July to late August, ICE said.
CBS News called the six-week operation the largest ICE sweep since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the U.S., when officials said they would focus on arresting those only deemed a threat to public safety.
A total of 122 removable immigrants were arrested in the Nevada-Utah-Idaho-Montana region, ICE said. It wasn’t clear how many were taken into custody in Nevada.
A spokesperson could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
More than 300 immigrants were arrested in California, 145 in Texas, and 63 in Colorado and Wyoming, according to separate ICE press releases.
About 85% of the more than 2,000 taken into custody had “criminal convictions or pending criminal charges,” ICE said in a news release. The agency didn’t break down how many of those arrested had convictions or just pending criminal cases.
Limited data provided by ICE showed that the top crimes the immigrants were facing, or convicted of, were assault, domestic violence, family offense or sexual offense. There were 14 homicide convictions and 12 pending homicide charges.
ICE did not say how the roughly 15% of immigrants with clean records were caught up in the operation.
However, the agency maintains that anyone in the U.S. illegally is subject to deportation. “ICE does not exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All those in violation of immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States.”
“The aliens targeted during this operation preyed on men, women and children in our communities, committing serious crimes and, at times, repeatedly hurting their victims,” Bryan Wilcox, acting field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Salt Lake City, said in a statement.
“By focusing our efforts on abusers, we can prevent future victimization from occurring,” Wilcox said.
The operation took place from mid-July to late August, ICE said.
