April 2, 2007

ICE arrests 128 immigration violators in statewide enforcement operation
Sex offenders, violent criminal and fugitive aliens among those arrested

NEWARK, N.J. - As part of a two-week targeted law enforcement effort, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Fugitive Operation Teams (FOTs) in New Jersey arrested 128 immigration violators and alien fugitives, including 35 with criminal records. The targeted enforcement initiative is part of "Operation Return to Sender," a nationwide ICE program that locates and arrests immigration fugitives. ICE has three fugitive operation teams in New Jersey.

During the period of March 19 through March 30, ICE officers arrested 55 fugitives and 73 other immigration violators. Criminal convictions among those arrested include sexual assault, sexual misconduct with a minor, aggravated assault, resisting arrest, weapons charges, arson, fraud, drugs, driving under the influence, receiving stolen property, and larceny.

"ICE will continue to fulfill our congressional mandate by apprehending and deporting those illegally present in our country, especially those who have committed egregious offenses against our citizens," said acting field office director Bartolome Rodriguez, who leads ICE's detention and removal efforts in Newark. "Criminal aliens have a very high rate of recidivism and often re-victimize people in the community in which they live."

The aliens arrested during the two-week statewide operation came from the following 20 countries: Albania, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Uruguay, Spain, and Turkey. Highlighted apprehensions include:

• On March 21, ICE Newark arrested Victor Ramirez-Santiago, a 24 year-old Mexican national, in Bridgeton, New Jersey. In 2004 Ramirez entered the United States without inspection by an Immigration Officer. On November 14, 2006 Ramirez was convicted of child abuse and cruelty, after engaging in a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl.



• On March 22, ICE Newark arrested Pedro Roman Perez, a 59 year-old Dominican national. The subject was convicted in 1985 for attempted murder. Mr. Perez was also convicted of assault and driving under the influence.



• On March 27, deportation officers of the Marlton Sub-Office/Newark Field Office arrested Yunus Akif Cokokumus, a 36 year-old Turkish national. ICE officers established his true identity, revealing that he was unlawfully present in the United States. The subject was previously arrested and convicted for driving under the influence in New York, NY. The subject was also found to have outstanding charges with the Bergen County Sheriff's Department for fraudulent use of a credit card, theft by deception, and hindering apprehension.

The subjects became fugitives when they defied an order from a federal immigration judge and failed to leave the United States. All of the fugitives had the opportunity for full due process under the law. The fugitives arrested will remain in ICE custody pending their final removal from the country. The other individuals arrested have been placed in immigration removal proceedings.

The New Jersey operation is part of the nationwide interior immigration enforcement strategy announced in 2005 by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and ICE Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers. A critical element of that strategy is to identify, locate and remove criminal aliens, fugitives, and other immigration violators from the United States.

The interior enforcement strategy is part of the Department of Homeland Security's broader Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a multi-year plan to secure America's borders and reduce illegal migration. Those efforts are focused on gaining operational control of the nation's borders through the deployment of additional personnel and technology, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are quickly removed from the country.

Since the start of the operation on May 26, 2006, and as of March 2, 2007, DRO Field Offices, ICE agents and officers were involved in a concerted effort which resulted in the arrest of 18,860 criminal aliens, illegal alien gang members, fugitive aliens, sexual predators and other immigration status violators.

-- 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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