A weeklong roundup of illegal immigrants that were released by the state of California netted nearly 125 at-large aliens with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] said in a press release on Wednesday.
"The ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of DHS] actions, which took place Sept. 18 to Oct 3, targeted aliens subject to removal who were arrested for crimes but were released by state or local law enforcement agencies, despite having active immigration detainers in place. Over 95% percent of those [125] aliens arrested, had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges at the time of arrest," the release said.
California is among several US states with so-called sanctuary policies, which generally prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with ICE and other federal immigration police, the release said.
Nearly 100 of the arrests took place in Southern California's Los Angeles area, where detainees had criminal histories that include homicide, sexual assault, sex crimes involving children, assault, robbery, domestic violence and drunk driving, the release added.
In most cases, local authorities released detainees with ICE detainers, which request that suspects be held until federal police can take custody. (/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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