Federal authorities arrested 26 people in Minnesota this past week, part of a five-state targeted enforcement operation aimed at criminal immigrants.
In all, 86 foreign nationals were arrested during the three-day operation in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska, according to a statement released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Of those arrested:
- 52 had prior criminal convictions in addition to their illegal immigration status.
- 10 were lawful permanent residents with criminal convictions.
- 23 had been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country. (Anyone who re-enters the U.S. after being deported commits a felony.)
- Seven were immigration fugitives with outstanding final orders of removal issued by a federal immigration judge.
The arrested includes a 35-year-old Nigerian national arrested in Eden Prairie who was convicted of terroristic threats that stemmed from a sexual assault, the statement said.
The operation targeted public-safety threats such as gang members and convicted criminals, according to the statement, which continued that ICE does not conduct random sweeps and raids that target aliens indiscriminately; rather operations are based on investigative leads.