By Morgan Lee
San Diego Union Tribune
September 20, 2010
Federal authorities have detained 39 immigrants in San Diego County during a three-day effort to catch fugitives linked to crimes and pending deportation orders, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a news release Monday.
Of the illegal immigrants arrested last week by an agency Fugitive Operations Team, half had prior convictions for crimes including domestic violence, indecent exposure, vehicle theft, fraud, driving under the influence and drug violations. Most faced outstanding orders for deportation or had returned after being deported.
But none appeared to be a major threat to public security as defined by the agency’s Fugitive Operations Program, which has emphasized catching transnational street gang members and child sex offenders.
Locally the program has made 1,343 arrests since October 2009. Those arrests are part of a nationwide effort to deal with the nearly 525,000 estimated people who remain in the U.S. despite orders to leave or stay away.
Those detained last week in San Diego were foreign nationals from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador , Somalia and the Philippines.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/sep/20/39-fugitive-immigrants-arrested-in-sd-county/
