ICE arrest 60 plus
A Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Division’s enforcement operation in Grimes and Brazos County Thursday, Feb. 6, resulted in 219 vehicles being stopped and over 60 individuals being arrested by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE).
DPS Sergeant Jimmy Morgan stated this was the second of two recent operations in the area to identify vehicles and drivers who may be in violation of state laws or federal commercial vehicle regulations.
“As a result of both operations, DPS stopped 219 vehicles, issued 84 citations and 341 warnings,” said Morgan. Additionally, Morgan said 10 commercial vehicles were placed out-of-service, 22 speeding citations were issued, six criminal arrests were made for drug possession, one custody arrest for Driving While License is Invalid, and three warrants were served.
Morgan also stated more than 60 individuals were referred to ICE. “Among those arrested were individuals with criminal histories that included convictions for attempted murder, sexual assault of a child, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sodomy of a child,” said Morgan.
The Examiner reached out to ICE Houston office and received a statement from Public Affairs Officer, Timothy Oberle. “Due to law-enforcement sensitivities, the agency will not offer specific details related to enforcement operations. ICE routinely coordinates with our law enforcement partners here and throughout the nation as we have a shared commitment to serving our communities and promoting public safety.”
Oberle said ICE believes local law enforcement’s cooperation with ICE is crucial in promoting public safety.
Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell was perturbed that his agency wasn’t notified of the operation being conducted within the county. Sowell said he reached out to DPS Sergeant Alease Wilson and he informed her he had both citizens and media contacting him and no one had reached out to him to say they are in the county.
Sowell said he expected the courtesy of being informed when there is a federal and state agency performing a joint-force operation within the county. “I am not happy that I wasn’t at least notified that they were going to be in the county doing an operation,” said Sowell. “We were getting calls from everybody. It’s just professional courtesy and it’s disappointing.”
Sowell said the reason for his concern is to have answers for the citizens and media who reach out to him and the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office.
Oberle said ICE continues to focus its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. He said in fact more than 86% of aliens arrested by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations component in 2019, had either a criminal conviction or pending criminal charges.
Oberle said ICE does not exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. “All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and if found removable by final order, removal from the United States,” stated Oberle.
As of Tuesday, Feb. 11, The Examiner has not been able to obtain arrest records from ICE.