Immigration Raids in Southern California

The Associated Press reports that immigration raids across Southern California over the past week are, according to federal officials, among the largest in U.S. history targeting illegal immigrants who have criminal records or have ignored deportation orders. According to AP, federal immigration officials announced the results of the sweep — 338 illegal immigrants were arrested at their homes in Ventura, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties. Another 423 were taken into federal custody at county jails, said Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a twist, the Associated Press rode along on the first day of the secret sweeps, which began Jan. 17.

Those arrested were from 14 countries, including Mexico, Honduras, Ukraine, India, Japan, Poland, and Trinidad. Of the 761 people arrested, more than 450 have already been deported, Kice said today. The raids were a major push within “Operation Return to Sender,” a crackdown that has resulted in 13,000 arrests nationwide since June. Immigration officials have also identified 3,000 inmates in state and local jails who will be deported.

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KJ