ICE conducts immigration raid in Las Cruces

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Wednesday that agents conducted a raid in Las Cruces to apprehend immigrants who had been convicted of crimes or ordered deported by an immigration court.

The federal agency’s spokeswoman in El Paso, Leticia Zamarripa, said additional resources and personnel were used during the enforcement operation.

She said the operation was conducted “to apprehend deportable foreign nationals.” She did not confirm the location or provide further details of the operation or say whether more were planned in the future.

“ICE will not confirm an operation prior to its completion, nor will ICE speculate on future operational activities,” she said.

According to Channel 7-KVIA, the operation was reported on Doña Ana Road, in the northwest part of Las Cruces.

Zamarripa said the operation was no different than what already is routine.

“The focus of these targeted enforcement operations is consistent with the routine, targeted arrests carried out by ICE’s Fugitive Operations Teams on a daily basis,” she said.

Last week, ICE agents arrested 680 people in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San Antonio and New York City.

Those operations targeted “public safety threats” and “individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement Monday.

Those arrested included immigrants convicted of crimes ranging from DUI and assault to drug trafficking, sexual assault and homicide.

The arrests also included immigrants who had re-entered the country after being deported or whose deportation had been ordered by an immigration judge.

Lorena Figueroa may be reached at 546-6129; lfigueroa@elpasotimes.com; @LFigueroaEPT on Twitter.