March 07, 2007

ICE BEST team arrests 15 criminal aliens from a 3-county south Texas area
Arrests are part of the Border Enforcement Task Force

HARLINGEN, Texas - The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Border Enforcement Security Task force (BEST) today announced the arrests of more than 15 violent criminal aliens in three south Texas counties.

"Today's arrests demonstrate this task force's dedication to pursue those who pose a threat to our public safety and the well being of our communities," said Jerry Robinette, special agent-in-charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in San Antonio. "We are determined to make our communities safer for everyone. Taking known criminals off our streets goes a long way to that goal. In the case of criminal aliens, we can also remove them from the country."

The Rio Grande Valley's (RGV) BEST task force is a Department of Homeland Security team comprised of special agents and officers from ICE; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General; the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the FBI; Cameron County Sheriff's Office; the Harlingen Police Department; and other state/local agencies.

Those arrested today have prior felony convictions that include: aggravated assault of a child, theft and murder, criminal possession of a weapon, drug convictions and other sex offenses.

Among those arrested was Jesus Maria Islas, a 46-year old citizen of Mexico, who was convicted of sexual assault in March 1991. He served a 10-year prison sentence. He was arrested this morning in Pharr without incident, and has been placed in removal proceedings for immigration violations.

Also arrested today was Felipe Jesse Gutierrez, 41-year-old, a citizen of Mexico and a U.S. permanent resident who was convicted in 1987 of third-degree assault and possession of marijuana. He was arrested at his place of employment in McAllen without incident, and placed in removal proceedings for violating immigration law.

Some criminal convictions render even U.S. permanent residents eligible for deportation.

The aliens today were arrested in the counties of Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr, all representing the country of Mexico.

"BEST" BACKGROUND
The RGV BEST team, now based in the ICE office in Harlingen, Texas, was first established in Laredo, Texas, in July 2005. The BEST Laredo team was formalized by the Department of Homeland Security in response to significantly increased border crime and violence in the south Texas border area, specifically in the adjacent border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas. This crime increase has been attributed to the ongoing battle between the Gulf and the Sinaloa drug cartels.

The drug cartels' struggle for power was so marked in its use of violence, extortion and corruption, it resulted in destabilizing the city of Nuevo Laredo. The BEST teams (also located in, El Paso, Arizona and California) target the primary criminal activity or criminal threats identified in their respective areas of responsibilities.

The Laredo BEST team remains focused on eliminating violent crime attributed to cross-border smuggling activity by developing and/or improving existing working partnerships with U.S. agencies (primarily CBP, ATF, DEA, FBI and Laredo PD) and Mexican intelligence and law enforcement agencies (PFP and CISEN), which are all BEST participants.

This international collaboration has already resulted in impressive arrests and contraband seizures, on both sides of the border. The Laredo BEST team has been directly responsible for deporting individuals wanted for murder and horrific acts of violence, on both sides of the border. Additionally, it has resulted in revoking or not issuing visas to individuals suspected or confirmed to be involved in large-scale criminal activity.

Since its inception, the Laredo BEST team has been responsible for 74 criminal arrests, which include seven individuals wanted for murders in Laredo, and three in Mexico. Also, the task force has been responsible for seizing: more than $4 million dollars, 1049 lbs. of marijuana, 355 lbs. of cocaine, 42 assault rifles, 12 live hand grenades and/or improvised explosive devices (IEDs), five shotguns, 25 handguns, eight silencers, significant amounts of gun parts and 1½ pounds of methamphetamines. Additionally, components to make over 100 more IEDs have been seized.

In Mexico, Proyecto Frontera Norte attributes the following statistics to their partnership with ICE: 97 criminal arrests, 69 undocumented immigrants apprehensions, and 111 firearms, 146 magazines, 6838 rounds of ammunition, 44 vehicles, more than 1100 lbs. of marijuana, $34,564 and more than 237,880 pesos seized.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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