ICE Arrests 54 In Sweep of Hudson Valley, NYC, Long Island

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement Removal Operations arrested 54 immigration violators, including eight Hudson Valley residents, in a recent sweep in the New York City metro area.

Arrests were made in Cortlandt, Kingston, Mamaroneck, Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, Wappinger Falls, White Plains and Yonkers.

The people arrested in the Hudson Valley had convictions for assault, violations of court orders and traffic offenses, ICE officials said. Pending charges include assault, marijuana possession, cruelty toward a child, and fraud – impersonating. Five had been released from local custody with active ICE detainers and one individual was previously removed from the U.S.

The individuals arrested are citizens of Jamaica, Guatemala, Mexico, Ireland and Ecuador.

Most of the individuals arrested during the overall operation had criminal histories, Thomas R. Decker, ICE ERO New York field office director said in the statement.

ICE officially announced the results of the enforcement activity on Oct. 16, but one Manhattan resident’s arrest garnered considerable media coverage in New York prior to the announcement.

On Oct. 8, during an at-large arrest in Manhattan, ICE took custody of 48-year-old Fernando Santos-Martinez, an unlawfully present Mexican national who was removed from the U.S. on three separate occasions in 2003.

Despite a detainer lodged by ICE, the New York Police Department had released Santos-Martinez from custody following his Sept. 11 arrest for assault, attempted assault, attempted gang assault, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment. His local charges are currently pending.

Following Santos-Martinez’s arrest, news organizations falsely reported claims of ICE officers misidentifying themselves as NYPD – an accusation that ICE leadership denied.

“NYPD should have been empowered to turn Santos-Martinez over to ICE officers in a controlled environment back in September," said Decker. "His arrest was inevitable, but had local politicians and media organizations abstained from promoting false accusations, the confusion could have been avoided. ERO officers are brave and honest professionals. They work tirelessly to gather information and conduct investigations to remove dangerous criminals from our communities. Before denigrating ICE officers, I encourage city officials to consider the repercussions of their sanctuary city policies."

In an Oct. 13 statement, ICE Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Tony H. Pham wrote that ERO officers use the term "police" to quickly identify themselves as law enforcement officers because it is a universally recognized symbol of law enforcement in most cultures. The statement said the use of the term is important because ICE officers often interact with individuals who are often not native English speakers.

Pham encouraged local officials to reconsider the policies which prohibit local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with ICE, suggesting that non-compliance with ICE detainers will likely lead to increased ICE enforcement activity.

“ICE has no choice but to conduct more at-large, targeted enforcement actions [to] achieve its congressionally mandated mission,” Pham wrote. “This means that the agency is likely to encounter other unlawfully present foreign nationals that wouldn’t have been encountered had we been allowed to take custody of a criminal target within the confines of a local jail.”