34 Wisconsin men were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 280 convicted criminal aliens in six Midwestern states during a month long initiative which ended Saturday.

ICE officers arrested 34 males in Wisconsin during the initiative. All are Mexican nationals, except for one Ecuadorian national who was also arrested. Arrests occurred in the following Wisconsin communities: Arcadia, Deerfield, Franksville, Gillette, Green Bay, Hilbert, Humbird, Janesville, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Madison, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Princeton, Racine, and Wautoma.

A previously deported 31-year-old Mexican national with a prior burglary conviction was arrested in Madison. He illegally re-entered the United States after being deported in 2012. He remains in ICE custody pending deportation.

In Milwaukee, a previously deported 28-year-old Mexican national with multiple prior convictions for possessing a weapon, possessing cocaine, possessing stolen property, and larceny was arrested. He illegally re-entered the United States after being deported in 2009. He was arrested May 21 in Milwaukee and is in local custody pending drug charges. Once those charges are resolved he will be turned over to ICE for deportation.

The 272 men and eight women arrested are from 22 countries.

This enforcement surge began May 18 and concluded June 13. It was the latest effort by ICE to prioritize the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens. The arrests were made in the following six states: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri.

All 280 individuals arrested have been convicted of crimes in the United States and fall within ICE's enforcement priorities for deportation. Overall, their convictions include: aggravated robbery, armed robbery, drug possession, burglary, aggravated drunken driving, illegal possessing a weapon by a felon, battery, hit-and-run, and drug trafficking.

“Our dedicated officers strive to make our communities safer by arresting convicted criminal aliens and removing them from the United States,\" said Ricardo Wong, field officer director for ERO Chicago. \"By focusing our resources on the most egregious offenders, we ensure the very best use of our resources while immediately improving public safety.”

In fiscal year 2014, ICE conducted 315,943 removals nationwide. Eighty-five percent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.