U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Tuesday arrested a Mexican man who allegedly threatened to shoot ICE officers.
The illegal immigrant, 30-year-old Cesar Diaz-Rodriguez, was arrested in Houston, Texas. He had on at least five separate occasions illegally entered the United States, according to ICE.
The last time he was known to have been deported was on Oct. 31, 2017, after he was convicted on a felony criminal charge for unlawful firearm possession. According to the federal agency, Diaz-Rodriguez was voluntarily returned to Mexico three other times—twice in September 2004 and once in October 2011.
According to ICE, “several anonymous tips” came through the ICE tip line alleging that the illegal immigrant had threatened to shoot ICE officers. Diaz-Rodriguez was located and ultimately arrested, thanks to information received through the tips, the agency said.
“This individual brazenly ignored U.S. immigration law, while simultaneously threatening the lives of the brave men and women sworn to uphold it,” said Patrick Contreras, field office director for ICE Houston, according to a news release.
“By working together with our partners from ERO Boise, we have removed this dangerous criminal alien from the community before he could act on those cowardly threats,” Contreras added.
Diaz-Rodriguez remains in ICE custody in Texas pending criminal prosecution for illegal reentry.
Illegal Immigration in the United States
Up to 29 million illegal immigrants are living in the United States, according to researchers at Yale University in a study published in September 2018.The researchers noted that previous estimates were all based on one survey, and they were able to figure out the true range of illegal immigrants residing in the country. The new approach the researchers used was based on operational data, including deportations and visa overstays. They combined that with demographic data, including death rates and immigration rates. The paper examined data from 1990 to 2016.
They said the mean estimate was 22.1 million illegal immigrants.
The center said the estimated 28,000 births to illegal immigrants in the Los Angeles metro alone is larger than the total number of births in 14 states and the District of Columbia. About 67 percent of illegal immigrants who give birth aren’t insured, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill for the births. The cost of illegal immigrant births was pegged at $2.4 billion.
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