ICE Details Some Arrests From Recent Multi-County Operation
Two weeks ago the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office participated in an operation with federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The operation focused on highway traffic in the unincorporated areas of Fayette County. The Record reached out to the Sheriff’s Office to find out how many people were arrested in the operation. The Sheriff’s Office said ICE was the lead agency and all questions would need to be answered by them.
So last week the Record contacted ICE for more information. The agency said the activity in Fayette County was part of a multi-county operation in Southeast Texas.
“Every day, ICE is conducting immigration enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement to the Record.
The statement included details on five individuals arrested in the operation, whom the spokesperson described as among the “worst of the worst.”
Those individuals included the following:
• Severiano Gomez Sanchez, a 54-year-old previously removed criminal illegal alien from Mexico, who has been convicted of sexual assault of a child.
• Fram Cubero Rivera, a 39-year-old twice-removed criminal illegal alien from Honduras, who has been convicted of indecency with a child with sexual contact and illegal reentry.
• Fernando Valencia-Rebuelta, a 37-year-old 14-time removed criminal illegal alien from Mexico, who is currently charged with organized retail theft and has been convicted of burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, DWI, possession of a controlled substance, driving without a license, credit card fraud, and illegal reentry.
• Agustin Santos Escalante Carillo, a 39-year-old criminal illegal alien from Mexico who has illegally entered the U.S. twice. Escalante is currently charged with felony assault on a family member and has been convicted twice for DWI and once for assault of a family member.
• Hugo Armando Esquivel- Castro, a 39-year-old criminal illegal alien from Mexico who has illegally entered the U.S. 13 times, and who has been convicted of alien smuggling, felony drug possession, illegal entry by willful concealment of a material fact, illegal reentry and four times for illegal entry.
The Record asked ICE if any of the five individuals were arrested in Fayette County. We also asked for the total number of individuals arrested in Fayette County, the number of vehicles seized in Fayette County, and which other counties were included in the operation.
“At this time, that is all we’re releasing on the recent arrests,” the ICE spokesperson said.
Last year, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 8. The law requires all Sheriff’s Offices in the state to enter into immigration enforcement agreements with ICE. The law states the agreements are meant “to authorize the sheriff and officers, employees, and, as applicable, contractors of the sheriff’s department to enforce federal immigration law.”
The law authorizes the Attorney General to take legal action against Sheriff’s Offices that do not participate with ICE.
It also provides grant funding to the Sheriff’s Offices to cover costs associated with ICE partnerships. Last week the Record filed a public information request with the Fayette County Auditor’s Office to find out how much grant funding the County has received through the ICE partnership. Look for those details in a future edition of the Record.