Houston's Nighttime Hunt for Criminal Aliens: A New Approach to Law Enforcement

Houston's streets saw an unusual sight on a recent Saturday night. A team of 40 federal officers, driven by a new data-focused strategy, took to the rain-soaked streets. Their mission? To find and arrest criminal aliens in high-crime areas. The operation was led by Larry Adams, Acting Deputy Director of the Houston ICE Field Office. He revealed that they had identified around 800 potential targets in just a one-mile radius. Using a new system called "Elite, " they aimed to saturate these areas with officers. The team's first stop was southeast Houston. They quickly encountered two illegal alien males, who resisted arrest. Both were intoxicated, with one holding a six-pack of beer. The officers safely subdued them and took them into custody. This operation was different from usual methods. Instead of sending a few teams, they overwhelmed the locations. They targeted various criminal categories, including aggravated felons and sexual predators. Adams emphasized that they weren't stopping people randomly. They used a new software system to access various law enforcement databases. By running a license plate, they could quickly determine a driver's identity, criminal history, and immigration status. After successful stops in southeast Houston, the agents moved to the northeast side. They targeted congested areas, where they had previously identified about 800 potential criminal aliens within a one-mile radius. The "Elite" software showed hot areas, highly populated, and high crime. It allowed officers to drill down to the country of origin, the criminality, and even its severity. By the end of the night, despite torrential rains, officers arrested approximately 25 illegal aliens. Adams expressed pride in the team, noting that they had volunteered to work this new nighttime operation. The team consisted of Houston ERO officers, who, along with CBP officers and Border Patrol agents, carried out the first nighttime operation in Houston. Bradford credited Adams' leadership, as he quickly assembled the manpower and resources to make this happen. Adams explained that they want to send a message to the criminal alien population in the Houston area that ICE is a 24-7 operation. One ICE ERO official who recently returned from a temporary deployment to Chicago told Breitbart they have observed a massive upswing in the number of illegal aliens who violently resist arrest. They blamed the rhetoric that is spread by elected officials in other parts of the country, depicting officers and agents as Gestapo, Nazis, kidnappers, and other dehumanizing labels. Despite this, Adams highlighted the compassion of their agents and the personal connection many officers have to the immigration process. He revealed that his own wife is a naturalized Mexican national. "These are empathetic professionals who understand the immigration process, " he said. ICE officials hope to expand partnerships with local law enforcement agencies, including Harris County, Houston Police, and other task force partners, with the ultimate goal of comprehensive crime reduction. "We can be a force multiplier to these local and state agencies, " Adams stated. "We can provide additional manpower to target high-crime areas. While they do their thing, we can do ours and everyone goes home safely. " In the two days before this nighttime op, ERO Houston teams arrested about 200 criminal aliens in the infamous Colony Ridge community located northeast of Houston, officials stated. They also seized a large quantity of illicit drugs during that operation. This operation ended at about 1 a. m. Sunday morning. About nine hours later, the teams reassembled and went back out on the streets. On Monday, they were back out again, intending to identify, find, and remove criminal aliens to make Houston a safer city, officials said.