ICE arrests 132 people during enforcement operation in DC, Virginia

WASHINGTON - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have arrested 132 illegal immigrants in the D.C. area as part of an enforcement operation that took place this month.

Officers with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington Field Office conducted an operation called "Eagle's Shield," which targeted "notable threats to public safety throughout Virginia and Washington, D.C."

ICE said they arrested 131 men and one woman, which included nationals from 13 countries - Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Mongolia, Peru, Philippines, South Africa and Sudan.

Among those arrested were members of the MS-13 and the 18th Street gangs, violent offenders, sex offenders as well as fugitives from justice. They include:

- An El Salvadoran national identified as a high-ranking MS-13 member.
- A Bolivian national who has four prior convictions for rape and intercourse with a victim under thirteen.
- A Peruvian national previously convicted for battery and failure to register as a sex offender.
- A Mongolian national previously convicted for driving under the influence and forgery.
- An El Salvadoran national who is currently facing criminal charges for felony strangulation.
- A Honduran national and illegal re-entrant with an outstanding warrant for two counts of felony rape, two counts of felony sodomy, and two counts of felony sexual abuse.
- A Philippine national previously convicted of felony possession of a firearm with a controlled substance.
- A Guatemalan national previously convicted for consensual sexual intercourse with a child.
- An El Salvadoran national who is the subject of a U.S. Marshals federal arrest warrant for felony assault with a deadly weapon.
- A Jamaican national previously convicted of forgery.

"We set out to locate and detain known, dangerous criminal aliens who are hiding and operating in the neighborhoods we call home," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington Field Office Director Russell Hott. "Today's announcement is the result of the absolutely essential work our ICE officers perform to identify the worst of the worst and ensure they have no refuge here."

Nine people arrested during Operation Eagle's Shield have already been deported from the United States.

The enforcement operation took place during a 12-day period from July 9 to July 20.