The roundups and convictions are part of the ‘Take Back America’ effort instituted by President Donald Trump.
Nearly two dozen foreign nationals in North Florida who were previously deported from the United States have now been convicted of illegal reentry into the country.
U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin, who serves in the Northern District of Florida, announced that the 22 people had previously been removed from the U.S. for entering illegally.
All of those convicted were apprehended in the northern area of Florida between the beginning of this year and June. The foreign nationals are originally from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. They were previously removed at various times, some as recently as last year but others dating back to as far as 2004.
“You will see a pattern in many of these cases: aliens who continue to return to this country believing they will not face criminal consequences for violating our immigration laws,” Heekin said in a news release.
“President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have promised to Take Back America by making the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws a top priority, and my office will aggressively pursue these cases to ensure that those who continue to illegally enter our country are prosecuted and swiftly removed.”
Investigations into the 22 cases were conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security officials. While federal officials led the investigations, several Florida state and local law enforcement agencies in North Florida assisted in the cases.
The prosecutions were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer H. Callahan, Brooke DiSalvo, Jessica Etherton, Alcia Forbes, Justin M. Keen, James McCain, Eric Mountin, Walter Narramore, Jeffrey Tharp and Eric Welch.
Operation Take Back America is a nationwide effort by the Department of Justice “to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
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