ICE arrests more than 80 immigrants over 5 days on LI, NYC

More than 80 people in the region, including individuals on Long Island, were arrested this week on suspicion of violating U.S. immigration laws, officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday. 

The 82 arrested came from primarily Latin American countries, including Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Honduras. Others arrested were from Jamaica, Haiti and the Philippines.  ICE officers made the arrests on Long Island, New York City and the Hudson Valley during a five-day period that ended Wednesday. 

"Of those arrested during these five days, more than half were released from local custody with an active detainer," Thomas Decker, an ICE field office director, said in a statement. 

Of the 82 arrested, 10 had been removed from the United States and later illegally re-entered the country, ICE said. Many of those arrested also had felony convictions for violent crimes, the agency said.

ICE will "focus enforcement efforts on arresting and removing those criminal aliens who think the laws of this country are mere suggestions," Decker said.

ICE did not release specifics on how many were arrested on Long Island. However, the agency said individuals from Bayville, Bay Shore, Elmont, Brentwood, Freeport, Coram, Glen Cove, Flanders, Great Neck, Huntington Station, Hempstead, Mattituck, Levittown, Patchogue, Roosevelt, Shirley, Valley Stream and West Islip were among those arrested.

ICE officials said some arrested this week would face federal prosecution for illegal entry and illegal re-entry. Someone who has illegally re-entered the United States could face up to 20 years in prison, ICE said. 

Those who aren't being prosecuted will be processed for removal from the country, ICE said.