ICE arrest over 100 people in LA immigration sweep

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In Los Angeles, California, over 100 people were arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a four-day nationwide sweep of the so-called "sanctuary jurisdiction", federal authorities said on Thursday.

Photo from CBS Los Angeles

ICE officials said this sweep, codenamed "Operation Safe City" which ended on Wednesday, mainly targeted people who had "violated US immigration laws, prioritized aliens with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, known gang members and affiliates, immigration fugitives and those who re-entered the US after deportation."

Roughly 500 people were arrested across the country in the past few days.

AP Photo

Besides in Los Angeles, raids were also made in San Francisco and San Jose, and in other states like Illinois, Colorado, New York, Oregon and Massachusetts.

"Sanctuary jurisdictions that do not honor detainers or allow us access to jails and prisons are shielding criminal aliens from immigration enforcement and creating a magnet for illegal immigration," ICE Acting Director Tom Homan said.

"As a result, ICE is forced to dedicate more resources to conduct at-large arrests in these communities."

Reuters Photo

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) began tightening the crackdown on illegal immigration when Donald Trump was sworn in as president in January, but the move has been hindered by "sanctuary cities."

The DOJ then threatened to cut federal funds to these cities, but this initiative was challenged by the "sanctuary cities" themselves. In particular, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago filed lawsuits with the DOJ.

(With input from Xinhua News Agency)

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in a four-day nationwide sweep