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June 1, 2007

ICE arrests 20 immigration violators, drunken drivers, criminals in Austin, Minn.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested 20 illegal aliens, some with convictions for drunken driving and other crimes, during a two-day enforcement operation in Austin, Minn.

This localized, targeted enforcement initiative, which was conducted May 30 and 31, 2007, is part of an ongoing nationwide initiative focused on arresting criminal aliens. During the operation, ICE officers arrested 20 illegal aliens, including 8 with convictions for drunken driving and various criminal offenses. Three of those arrested have been convicted more than once for drunken driving.

"ICE will continue to fulfill our Congressional mandate to apprehend and deport those who entered our country illegally, especially those who have committed criminal acts," said Scott Baniecke, field office director for the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Bloomington. "Our job is to help protect the public from those who commit crimes, and to protect the integrity of the nation's legal immigration system."

The following are among those arrested in Austin.

  • Gilberto Alejo-Ubaldo, 20, a citizen of Mexico, has convictions for drunken driving (two), aggravated forgery, driving without a license, indecent exposure and interference with privacy /surreptitious intrusion. He also has been deported previously.
  • Fausto Cesar Alvarado-Sagastume, 36, a citizen of Guatemala, has been deported three times before. He was criminally convicted of re-entry after deportation in 1999 and sentenced to 37 months in prison.
  • Ignacio Cruz-Maldonado, 25, a citizen of Mexico, was convicted of identity theft in Iowa.

These arrests are part of ICE's interior enforcement strategy, which was announced in April 2006 by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and ICE Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers. A critical element of this interior enforcement strategy is to identify and remove criminal aliens, fugitives and other immigration violators from the United States.

-- 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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