U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Monday it made 1,328 arrests in Virginia and Maryland over the first two weeks of August.
ICE said nearly 400 of those arrested had criminal records. The rest were deemed to be immigration violators, including some believed to be associated with international gangs.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officers’ success came despite the headwinds of sanctuary policies in both states.
“Over the course of just two weeks in Virginia and Maryland, they arrested sexual assailants, kidnappers, drunk drivers, robbers, and gang members,” he said in a statement announcing the arrests.
The focus was on the metropolitan Washington area, though arrests took place across both states, ICE said.
The surge had drawn attention and sparked warnings from local officials, and particularly in school systems, who cautioned parents about ICE’s increased activity.
Still, it didn’t draw the kind of massive resistance that plagued efforts in Minnesota earlier this year, and Los Angeles and Chicago last year.
Among the arrests ICE announced were:
– Eygner Wilfredo Huezo-Moran, from El Salvador, who faced an outstanding murder warrant in Richmond. He was arrested in Chesterfield by ICE and U.S. marshals, who turned him over to local authorities for his criminal case, but asked that he eventually be transferred back to the feds for deportation.
– Estrella Reyes-Funez, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras, who has been convicted of felony hit-and-run and had faced charges of threats and violating a protective order. She was arrested in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and is being detained pending deportation.
– Mauricio Antonio Barrera-Navidad, a Salvadoran identified as a member of MS-13, whose criminal history included counts of robbery, firearms violations and illegal gang membership. He was arrested in Hyattsville and is being held for deportation.
