In May, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested 10 convicted sex offenders living in the Houston area.
According to a June 3 news release, the offenders were "unlawfully present" in the U.S. Eight of the 10 offenders had been convicted of sex crimes involving minors.
"The ICE ERO Houston Field Office is committed to enforcing our nation’s immigration laws against violent criminals, sex offenders and other priority migrants who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security," ERO Houston Acting Field Office Director Matt Baker said in the release. “By successfully arresting 10 sex offenders and child predators in the span of just one month, our fugitive operations officers are helping us make good on that unyielding commitment to arrest."
All the offender arrests were made under Operation SOAR (Sex Offender Arrest and Removal), the news release said. Most of the arrests took place in Harris County.
Those arrested range in age from 33 to 61 and are nationals of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico, according to the release. Convictions include aggravated sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child through sexual contact, indecent exposure to a minor and first-degree sexual abuse.
"Three of the noncitizen sex offenders arrested by ERO Houston in May have been removed from the U.S. to their country of origin," the news release said. "A fourth sex offender has been ordered removed by an immigration judge and is awaiting removal. The other six individuals remain in ICE custody pending disposition of their immigration proceedings."
