Nearly 600 criminal aliens arrested in nationwide sting; 19 from Lee/Collier counties

Lenroy Ricardo Rolle LCSO

NAPLES — Nearly 600 criminal aliens including 19 in Lee and Collier Counties were taken into custody in the past three days by local and federal law enforcement officers throughout the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico.

The lead agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, says the 596 criminal aliens targeted in Operation Cross Check was the largest-ever number of arrests made for this type of enforcement action.

The most arrested were in Florida and Puerto Rico where 258 aliens were taken into custody, according to an ICE press release. Of those, 14 were arrested in Lee County and five in Collier County, said Nicole Navas, an ICE spokeswoman in Miami.

One of those arrested, Lenroy Ricardo Rolle of the Bahamas, had been convicted of attempted sexual battery and improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon, Navas said.

He was convicted in 1988 in Lee County on the sex charge, online court records show.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office Web site shows Rolle was last in jail in July 2009 for violation of probation for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. A judge released him on his own recognizance at that time. He listed a South Fort Myers address as his home residence.

Navas said no other names of those arrested in Southwest Florida would be released by ICE.

In addition to the Lee and Collier arrests in Florida, agents made an additional 48 arrests in Miami-Dade County, five in Monroe County, 24 in Broward county, 11 in West Palm Beach, 10 in Tampa, 25 in Orlando and 13 in Puerto Rico.

The Atlanta Field Office made 232 arrests. The arrestees, 544 men and 55 women, represent 60 different nations, including countries in Latin America, Asia, Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Because of their serious criminal histories and prior immigration arrest records, at least 12 of those arrested during the enforcement surge face federal prosecution. A conviction for felony reentry carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

During the operation, which ended late Thursday, ICE officers and agents worked in teams with the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and local law enforcement agencies in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.

Any of the foreign nationals arrested during this operation who have active warrants will be referred to the associated local law enforcement agency and ICE will place detainers to ensure they return to ICE custody following disposition of their criminal cases.

It was not clear Friday whether any of those arrested in Southwest Florida had outstanding warrants.

Those 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. The remaining aliens are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge, or pending travel arrangements for removal in the near future.

This week’s special enforcement action was spearheaded by ICE’s Fugitive Operations Program, which is responsible for locating, arresting, and removing at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives — aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation handed down by the nation’s immigration courts.

ICE’s Fugitive Operations Teams give top priority to cases involving aliens who pose a threat to national security and public safety, including members of transnational street gangs and child sex offenders. This week’s operation focused on the apprehension of criminal aliens, which are not necessarily fugitives.

E-mail Valli Finney at vallimfinney@yahoo.com