WISC-TV reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 83 people over the course of a four-day operation, according to a news release from the agency.
Arrests were made in 14 Wisconsin counties. Twenty of the arrests were made in Dane County and 15 were made in Milwaukee County.
The people arrested were from eight countries, including Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. Of those arrested, 77 were men and six were women.
#BREAKING: @ICEgov has released arrest numbers from their 4 days in #Wisconsin. 83 people have been arrested, including 20 in Dane County. "During targeted enforcement operations, ICE officers frequently encounter other aliens illegally present in the United States." #news3 pic.twitter.com/MIfE9AFz6B
— Amanda Quintana (@AmandaQTV) September 25, 2018
"During targeted enforcement operations, ICE officers frequently encounter other aliens illegally present in the United States," the release said. "These aliens are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and, when appropriate, they are arrested by ICE officers."
The release from ICE said that, of the 83 people arrested, 44 have criminal convictions. Sixteen of the people arrested were "immigration fugitives" who do not have criminal convictions. Twenty-one of the people arrested are believed to have been previously deported, according to the release.
.@ICEgov releases arrest data in #Wisconsin by county:
20 in Dane
15 in Milwaukee
9 in Brown
7 in Taylor
6 in Marathon
5 in Rock
4 in Trempealeau, Eau Claire, & Kewaunee
3 in Outagamie
2 in Door & Waukesha
1 in Oconto and Racine#news3— Amanda Quintana (@AmandaQTV) September 25, 2018
The release provided the following summary of four people who were arrested during the operation in Wisconsin:
- ICE arrested a 27-year-old man from Mexico in Eau Claire. He was convicted in 2017 as an aggravated felon for having sex with a minor. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal to Mexico.
- ICE arrested a 27-year-old man from Thailand in Madison. He is a convicted sex offender and will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
- ICE arrested a 27-year-old man from Mexico in Madison. He has a 2016
conviction for child enticement – exposing his genitals. He will remain in ICE custody
pending removal from the United States. - ICE arrested a 62-year-old man from Mexico in Athens. He has three convictions for driving under the influence, and he was previously removed from the U.S. He remains in ICE custody pending his removal to Mexico.
Madison and Dane County officials have hosted multiple news conferences to discuss ICE's presence in the area and the fact that they want the agency to leave. An official with Madison Mayor Paul Soglin's office said she believes this news release means that ICE will be leaving the area, but that the community should expect the agency to come back.
During one news conference, Madison Police Chief Mike Koval said that the department has a working relationship with ICE, but the federal agency did not follow protocol during the recent arrests.
