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 News from Around the Americas | June 2007 
175 Arrested in Orange County Immigration Sweep
 North County Times
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| | A group of migrant farm workers walk back to their camp with food, clothing and other supplies given to them by the Ecumenical Migrant Outreach Project near the fields where they pick fruit in the northern part of San Diego County, California. The need for a documented, steady workforce is the biggest problem facing U.S. farmers, a leading U.S. grower group said days after a mammoth bid for immigration reform collapsed on Capitol Hill. (Reuters/Fred Greaves) |
Santa Ana - The largest-ever immigration sweep in Orange County resulted in 175 arrests, including a suspect wanted by Mexican authorities for allegedly killing a 74-year-old man in Zacatecas and a convicted child molester who had been previously deported, officials said today.
The five-day effort began June 1, and the arrested suspects include 27 people in the United States illegally who have prior criminal records, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The homicide suspect, Almarez Reveles Gonzalo, 35, came to the attention of the TRacKRS Unit of the Orange County District Attorney's Office when the Mexican Attorney General's Office sent word that he might be living in Orange County, officials said.
Gonzalo, traced to a home in Baldwin Park, is wanted for allegedly ambushing and killing his 74-year-old uncle nine years ago over a land dispute. Gonzalo was arrested yesterday and turned over to Mexican authorities within hours, officials said.
Arrested Tuesday at his home in Santa Ana was Jamie Pena-Martinez, 30, who has a prior conviction for child molestation and was also previously deported, officials said.
Of the 175 people arrested, more than 100 have already been returned to their native countries. The majority are from Mexico, but the group included nationals from eight other countries such as India, Kenya, the Philippines and Colombia, officials said.
ICE has five fugitive teams assigned to the Southland, and the units in the last nine months have made more than 1,600 arrests, including more than 300 criminal aliens.
Jim Hayes, ICE's Los Angeles Field Office director, said the latest operation in Orange County is proof of the agency's commitment.
"Foreign nationals who violate our laws and commit crime against our citizens should be on notice that there are serious consequences for their actions," Hayes said.
Among those caught up in the sweep were 26 people who had ignored final orders of deportation issued by immigration judges, officials said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is reviewing a number of cases for possible prosecution for re-entry after deportation, a felony that can carry terms of up to 20 years in prison. |
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