An extraordinary number of illegal migrants have been been snared in a mass US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) raid around Washington DC.
More than 1,328 people were apprehended in the suburbs of the American capital as part of Operation Safe Community, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
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The two-week operation secured the capture of illegal migrants who had prior convictions for sexual battery, kidnapping, drink driving, hit-and-run, identity theft and robbery.
Among those snared in Virginia and Maryland – states with sanctuary-style policies in place – were also a number of individuals who had previously been arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and rape.
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The mass raid even saw members of proscribed narco-terror groups MS-13 and Tren de Aragua captured by Ice agents, Fox News revealed.
Following the operation, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin hailed the “brave men and women of Ice” for “getting these dangerous illegal aliens out of our country”.
He added: “Over the course of just two weeks in Virginia and Maryland, they arrested sexual assailants, kidnappers, drunk drivers, robbers, and gang members.
“While sanctuary politicians in Virginia and Maryland keep putting the needs of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people, the Trump Administration will always put American citizens first.
“By arresting and removing illegal aliens from our communities, we will make America safe again.”
Patricia Hyde, the Ice Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Assistant Director, hailed the agency’s officers as “the best in the world at finding people who do not want to be located” following the raid.
“Removing these criminal alien offenders from Virginia and Maryland neighbourhoods makes for much safer communities, and that is exactly what the men and women of Ice work to accomplish every day across our great nation,” he added.
Among those now in custody is Jamaican illegal migrant Rowan Andrew Brown, who was arrested in Alexandria, Virginia, and has previous convictions for kidnapping, fraud and identity theft.
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Guatemalan national Angel Gabriel Ortiz-Hernandez, who was previously arrested on suspicion of raping a mentally incapacitated victim, was also snared in Alexandria.
Of the 1,328 illegal migrants arrested, almost 400 have been convicted or charged with crimes on American soil.
The DHS confirmed that all individuals arrested will remain in Ice custody pending deportation from the US.
The mass Ice raids in the Washington DC suburbs come just weeks after a similar operation in Atlanta, Georgia.
Those raids – also dubbed Operation Safe Community – saw over 1,200 criminal illegal migrants across the state of Georgia arrested by Ice agents.
In the first 12 months of Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, around 540,000 migrants were estimated to have been deported from the US.
The US President has repeatedly urged Andy Burnham to address Britain’s own migrant crisis, which Mr Trump warned was “killing” the country.
In July, he told GB News: “I know Starmer did very little about it, and they’re coming from all over the world.
“They’re coming from Africa. They’re coming from South America. They’re coming from different parts of Asia.
“They’re invading Europe. It’s an invasion, and the UK is a prime suspect.”
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