Long Island, NY - March 16, 2017 - After a sweeping two-day roundup effort in the New York City and Long Island area in early March, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) representatives today announced the arrests of eight men, all currently in the United States illegally, who had been previously convicted of sex crimes of varying degrees.

The suspects – all foreign nationals arrested during the course of regular ICE investigations – had been previously convicted in Nassau County, Suffolk County, Manhattan and Queens of offenses including attempted rape and sexual abuse, with some crimes even committed against underage victims, Federal officials said.

Thomas R. Decker, ICE field office director for New York, noted that all suspects are being detained pending the completion of removal proceedings, and praised the work of the agency's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers, who were personally responsible for tracking down the alleged lawbreakers and getting them off the streets.

"ERO officers are out there every day enforcing immigration law with targeted enforcement actions. These actions focus our resources on the most egregious offenders and promote public safety in the communities in which we live and work,” he said. “Being able to note the accomplishments of our day-to-day enforcement activities, outside of operations, highlights ICE’s constant commitment to make our communities safer."

ICE announced that all eight suspects arrested earlier this month – between March 5 and 7 – were already in the process of being deported; some had snuck back into the country after being previously ejected, while others were scheduled for deportation but had remained out of reach of law enforcement until now.

“The foreign nationals arrested will be processed administratively for removal from the United States. The arrestees who have outstanding orders of deportation, or who returned to the United States illegally after being deported, are subject to immediate removal from the country,” according to a statement released by an ICE representative on their official website. “The remaining individuals are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge, or pending travel arrangements for removal in the near future.”

While the names of those in custody were not released, ICE officials have released the details of all eight arrests:

• A 45-year-old Ecuadorian man with a prior conviction of the crime of sexual abuse in the first degree in the County Court of the State of New York, County of Nassau and was sentenced to four months imprisonment and ten years’ probation. The victim of the crime was a female who was 22 years old. He was arrested in Roslyn, March 6 and will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
• A 38-year-old Dominican man with a prior conviction of the crime of attempted rape in the 3rd degree in the County Court of the State of New York, County of Nassau and was sentenced to 6 years’ probation. The victim of the crime was a female who was 15 years old. He was arrested in Freeport, March 6 and will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
• A 48-year-old Mexican man with prior convictions of the crime of promote a sexual performance by a child and possessing sexual performance by a child in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York and was sentenced to six months incarceration and ten years of supervised probation on each count, to run concurrently. He was arrested in Brooklyn, March 6 and will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
• A 32-year-old citizen and national of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a prior conviction of the crime of sexual abuse 3rd degree in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York and was sentenced to a Conditional Discharge and an Order of Protection. The victim of the crime was a sixteen year old female. He was arrested in New York, March 6 and will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
• A 39-year-old Honduran man with a prior removal from the United States and a prior conviction of the crime of attempted forcible in the County Court of the State of New York, County of Nassau.  He was arrested in Hempstead, March 7 and will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
• A 24-year-old Guatemalan man with a prior conviction of the crime of attempted rape in the County Court of the State of New York, County of Nassau and sentenced to 10 years’ probation. He was arrested in Freeport, March 7 and will remain in ICE custody pending his removal from the United States.
• A 36-year-old Salvadoran man with prior convictions of the crime of forcible touching in the County Court of the State of New York, County of Suffolk and petit larceny. He was arrested in Patchogue, March 7, and will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
• A 25-year-old Ecuadorian man with prior convictions of the crime of criminal sex act 2nd degree by the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Queens and was sentenced to ten years of supervised probation.  He was arrested in Jackson Heights, March 7, and will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.

ICE representatives noted that their agency was responsible for numerous enforcement actions in the past year that specifically targeted criminals and wrong-doers over law-abiding individuals by a wide margin.

“In fiscal year 2016, ICE conducted 240,255 removals nationwide,” officials said. “Ninety-two percent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.”