More than 80 people were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a two-week sweep in San Diego meant to target threats to national security and public safety, the agency said Monday.
The operation concluded Friday with 84 individuals in custody, ICE said. It was not clear where the raids, conducted by Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers, took place.
More than a quarter of those arrested had criminal convictions against them, ICE said. The agency said some were convicted on sex crimes or weapons and assault charges but did not specify how many of the 25 arrested criminal convicts fell into those categories.
About 46 people were arrested for staying in the United States after being issued a final order of removal or re-entering the United States after being deported, according to the information provided by ICE.
While the raids focus on national security and public safety threats, ICE does not exempt any immigrants living in the country illegally when conducting raids, they said.
According to the information provided by ICE, more than a dozen people were neither convicted criminals, previously deported or scheduled for deportation.
ICE said California laws that limit local law enforcement interaction with immigration officers has forced them to conduct sweeps like this, which they say put their officers and the public at risk.
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"We will continue our efforts targeting public safety threats linked to immigration violators, while seeking to ultimately deport at-large criminal targets and other immigration fugitives who pose a threat to our communities," said Greg Archambeault, ICE ERO Director of Field Operations in San Diego.
