Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Immigration officials announce 31 arrests in Las Vegas area

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials today announced 31 arrests in the Las Vegas-area late last month.

Five of the people in custody had previously been deported, and 26 had prior felony convictions for violent crimes, Department of Homeland Security officials said.

The undocumented immigrants were not named, but officials said they include a Mexican man convicted in May for possession of child pornography, a man from El Salvador convicted in 1996 for sex abuse of a child and a fugitive from Mexico convicted three times for DUI and previously arrested on counts of lewdness.

Others arrested were from Russia, Iran, Guatemala and Honduras, officials said.

Metro Police, through the Clark County Detention Center, has an agreement with federal immigration authorities that allows for immigration enforcement to place a 48-hour detainer on inmates identified as deportable when they’re booked in jail. None of those recently arrested had active immigration enforcement detainers in local jails.

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo has maintained his agency only turns over “the worst of the worse,” although local activists counter the argument, urging Metro and immigration enforcement to release data.

“ICE deportation officers focus enforcement efforts on arresting and removing criminal aliens who think the laws of this country are mere suggestions,” Robert Culley, field officer director for ICE in Salt Lake City, said in a statement.