16 people federally indicted on criminal immigration charges in Kentucky
A federal grand jury in Kentucky on Wednesday indicted 16 people on criminal immigration charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Fourteen of the suspects were indicted for illegal reentry after deportation or removal. Four of the 16 were also charged with possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, according to the office.
The suspects are between 28 and 54 years old and are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, according to the attorney’s office. Several of them were denied admission, excluded, deported and removed from the United States two previous times.
The four people charged with the firearm offense were found in possession of a gun in Jefferson County, according to the attorney’s office. The firearm charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years
The illegal reentry charge carries a maximum prison sentence of two years, according to the attorney’s office.
The indictments come after 81 people were detained recently by ICE in Kentucky. The 16 indicted suspects were arrested during an effort called Operation Take Back America.
The initiative is a nationwide operation that devotes significant Department of Justice resources toward cracking down on illegal immigration. The operation is also supported by the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
President Donald Trump has pushed for an aggressive crackdown on people in the country illegally. Most recently the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows presidents during war to detain or deport immigrants that would otherwise have legal status. It was last used to detain Japanese American citizens during World War II.
