21 Arrested in NW Suburbs In Immigration Bust

CHICAGO (WBBM) -- Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested 21 Mexican nationals, 16 of them reputed street gang members in the northwest suburbs.

WBBM's Bob Roberts.

Immigration Service spokesperson Gail Montenegro said the two-day operation targeted foreign national gang members. Agents made most or the arrests in Carpentersville, which has been a focus on the immigration debate in the northwest suburbs. Additional arrests were made in Belvidere, Bensenville, Cary, Lake Zurich and West Dundee.

Montenegro said 19 of the 21 were living illegally in the United States. The other two are permanent U.S. residents whose criminal convictions render them eligible for deportation.

Montenegro said five of the 21 apparently do not belong to gangs, and have not committed any crime except being in the U.S. illegally.

One of those arrested had an active warrant for his arrest on charges of aggravated battery and aggravated battery against a school employee. Montenegro said others were accused of convicted of burglary, aggravated battery, arson, criminal trespass, obstruction of justice and drug possession.     The individual charged with aggravated battery will face trial on those charges first. Montenegro said that after the charges are resolved, he will be returned to ICE custody for deportation.

Montenegro said the arrests are part of œOperation Community Shield, a two-year-old nationwide initiative in which ICE agents partner with federal, state and local law enforcement to combat gangs. Since it began, Immigration agents have arrested more than 7,500 street gang members representing more than 700 gangs.

WBBM is attempting to contact the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights for a response to the arrests.

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