NEW YORK, United States (CMC) — The United States (US) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says it has collaborated with law enforcement partners in apprehending a Jamaican among 206 undocumented immigrants during an enhanced targeted immigration enforcement operation in New York City.

Jamaican Derrick Alphonso Roberts, 60, was arrested along with Dominican Republic national Modesto Arias-Soto, 35, in the operation that was focused on “egregious criminal alien offenders, including transnational criminal organisations known to operate in and around New York”.

ICE said Roberts is “an illegally present Jamaican national whose criminal history includes convictions for manslaughter with intent to cause serious physical injury, criminal possession of controlled substance, criminal solicitation, corruption of minors, possessing an instrument of crime, terrorist threats, criminal conspiracy, cocaine possession with intent to distribute, carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number”.

According to ICE, Arias-Soto is “an illegally present Dominican (Republic) national whose criminal history includes a conviction for conspiracy to distribute narcotics and an arrest for tampering with public records”.

Others arrested include undocumented nationals from Spain, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. ICE said 121 of the 206 apprehended had significant criminal convictions or are currently facing charges for crimes such as murder, assault, arson, rape, sexual assault against minors, and drug trafficking.

“New York is much safer today because of the hard work of ICE and our law enforcement partners,” said acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. “Working with our partner agencies, ICE officers and agents arrested hundreds of alien offenders and removed them from the streets of New York.”

“Throughout this enhanced enforcement operation, we targeted the most dangerous alien offenders in some of the most crime-infested neighbourhoods in and around the city of New York,” he added. “Our efforts resulted in 206 arrests in just one week. I commend the efforts of everyone involved, as all were truly committed to the success of this operation.”

Lyons said ICE remains dedicated to its mission to prioritise public safety by arresting and removing illegal alien offenders from communities throughout the United States.