GUYANESE were among several other Caribbean nationalities arrested earlier this month in connection with ‘Crimes against Children’ sex offences as part of a five-day enforcement raid. The individuals who were arrested throughout New Jersey are nationals of Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Reports reveal that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Newark Field Office, executed a “Crimes against Children” operation on April 4 through 8, as part of the agency’s public safety efforts.

According to US Immigration press release, all of the targets in this operation met the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) highest immigration enforcement priorities as established in DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson’s 2014 memorandum.

The operation netted a total of 44 arrests of individuals convicted of crimes against children.

“The results of this targeted enforcement operation underscore ICE’s ongoing commitment to public safety,” said John Tsoukaris, field office director of ERO Newark.

“As part of this operation, we specifically focused on the arrest of individuals who took advantage of children. Because of the tireless efforts and teamwork of ERO officers and our law enforcement partners, there are 44 fewer criminals in our neighborhoods,” he added.

These individuals range from age 19 to 61 years old, and all were previously convicted of a variety of offenses. Some of the convictions included sexual abuse of a minor, criminal sexual contact of a child, luring or enticing a child, endangering the welfare of a child, sexual assault of a minor, child abuse, child neglect and indecent exposure.

In fiscal year 2015, ICE conducted 235,413 removals nationwide. Ninety-one per cent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.

ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security.