NEW YORK (CMC):
OVER A dozen Caribbean criminals convicted in the last year on drug and fraud charges are being deported to the region.
United States Immigration and Custom officials say that 16 legal and illegal Caribbean immigrants were among 35 people rounded up in Brooklyn as part of a Homeland Security Department initiative.
"These criminal aliens have violated our nation's laws and have lost the privilege to remain in the country," said Martin Ficke, special agent in charge of the New York office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Nine of the Caribbean immigrants came from the Dominican Republic, three from Guyana, two from Haiti, and one each from Jamaica and Barbados.
The arrested aliens, some of whom had 'Green Cards', lived in Brooklyn. They had been charged in New York with drug possession and trafficking, money laundering, bank and credit card fraud or producing false identities.
"They all had prior felony convictions for a variety of offences," Mark Thorn, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the weekly Carib News newspaper.
"They were all on probation, and we will continue our efforts with our law enforcement to further ensure the integrity of the immigration system," he added.
