5-Day ICE Operation Nets 426 Arrests in Indiana

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 426 illegal immigrant offenders during a recent five-day enforcement operation in Indiana.

Operation Safe Community-Indiana was conducted between Aug. 30 and Sept. 3. While the focus of the operation was on arresting offenders in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, targeted enforcement activities were carried out in other parts of the state, ICE said in a Sept. 16 statement.

The initiative apprehended illegal immigrants with criminal histories such as assault, battery, sex crimes, drug trafficking, identity theft, public order crimes, fraud, and weapons crimes.

In the operation, ICE personnel arrested members affiliated with transnational criminal street gangs, such as Tren de Aragua, MS-13, and 18th Street.

Individuals apprehended include an El Salvadoran national with a criminal history of sexual battery and illegal reentry into the United States, a Nicaraguan with a history of aggravated assault, a Guatemalan who has engaged in identity theft and forgery of public records, and a Mexican who has committed domestic battery.

Commenting on the operation, ICE Chicago Deputy Field Office Director Raymond Hernandez said, “ICE officers worked relentlessly to locate, arrest, and remove more than 400 illegal aliens from the streets of our Indiana communities during this brief but intense operation.”

Another Operation Safe Community crackdown conducted earlier between Aug. 1 and 14 had led to the arrests of 1,328 illegal immigrant offenders in Maryland and Virginia.

Among the arrested individuals, nearly 400 have been charged or convicted of crimes in the United States. According to ICE, officers made arrests in Virginia and Maryland despite many counties in these states having implemented sanctuary policies.

On Aug. 7, ICE announced that Operation Safe Community-Atlanta led to the arrests of 1,226 illegal immigrant criminals, with 720 having been charged or convicted in the United States.

Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection said in a Sept. 16 statement that in August, zero illegal immigrants were released into the United States from the southern border for the 16th straight month.

In contrast, 10,186 individuals were released by Border Patrol under the prior administration at the southern border in August 2024, the agency said.

“Sixteen straight months of zero releases at the border proves that President [Donald] Trump’s policies are working,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the statement. “Catch and release is over, consequences are back, and illegal crossings have fallen to historic lows. This is what a secure border looks like.”

Gloves Deployment

A plan to equip ICE personnel with gloves that deliver electric shocks to targets has come under criticism from lawmakers.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice on Aug. 10 about the gloves, known as CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E, or Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter. They are expected to be delivered by March 31 next year.

A group of 16 lawmakers, including Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), sent a letter to ICE Acting Director David Venturella on Aug. 27, raising concerns about the gloves.

“A device capable of delivering an electrical shock through direct contact with an individual presents substantial risks if deployed during civil arrests,” the lawmakers wrote.

Compliant Technologies, the manufacturer of the gloves, said on its website that the devices were designed to supplement existing tools used by law enforcement, military, emergency medical services, and security.

A Homeland Security Department spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that ICE seeks to ensure its officers have the equipment and tools necessary to arrest and remove criminal illegal immigrants from the country.

“Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards,” the spokesperson said.

Aldgra Fredly contributed to this report.