Polish National Deported for Assaulting a Minor

A man from Poland, convicted of aggravated assault of a child, was deported August 9, 2012, and turned over to Polish officials by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Rafal Pietrzak, 44, was encountered by officers assigned to ERO's Criminal Alien Program (CAP) at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice following his 1998 conviction for assaulting a child. He was transferred to ERO May 31, 2012 after serving 14 years in prison.

"This removal is an example of how ICE helps protect public safety by thoroughly screening jails and prisons throughout the nation to identify dangerous criminal aliens," said David W. Jennings, field office director for ERO Houston. "This case is representative of the hard work and service by our ERO officers and our law enforcement partners to accomplish this essential public-safety goal."

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

ERO also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or those criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.

Through CAP, ERO seeks to identify potentially deportable aliens incarcerated in jails and prisons throughout the United States. This is accomplished through interviews and reviews of inmates' biographical information. Although ERO initiates removal proceedings against criminal aliens through CAP, these individuals may remain in prison or jail to complete criminal hearings or sentences. Under CAP, ERO uses a risk-based approach to make determinations about the detention and arrest of criminal aliens, with priority given to cases involving individuals deemed to be a security or public-safety threat.

Child Sex Offender Arrested and Returned to Mexico

A Mexican national convicted of sex crimes against children was returned to his home country March 7 by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Dionisio Anaya-Velarde, 44, was arrested March 6 by ERO officers in Albuquerque, N.M.

ERO officers encountered Anaya-Velarde March 30, 2010, at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque. He had been arrested and later convicted of two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor in the third degree (child under 13) and criminal sexual penetration, both aggravated felonies.

While he was in prison, ERO officers placed an immigration detainer on him to ensure that if he were released from local custody for any reason, he'd be released to ERO.

Following his latest conviction, Anaya-Velarde was sentenced to 21 years in prison. However, 19 years of his sentence was suspended. He was released March 6, 2012, and transferred to ERO custody for deportation.

Anaya-Velarde was previously removed from the United States in June 1989 through Arizona. He re-entered the United States without inspection on or about May 2003 near Columbus, N.M. Anyone who re-enters the United States after being deported commits a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

"The cooperation by local jails and prisons allows ERO officers to identify criminal aliens and begin the process of removing them from the United States while they serve time for their crimes," said Adrian P. Macias, field office director for ERO El Paso. "These partnerships with local law enforcement agencies allow ERO to do its share to make our communities safer."

ICE's Criminal Alien Program identifies, processes and removes criminal aliens incarcerated in federal, state and local prisons and jails throughout the United States, preventing their release into local communities by securing final orders of removal before they complete their prison sentences.