ICE getting serious in CA

Over 3 weeks in California, ICE raids have seen the arrests of over 900 people.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says agents have arrested more than 900 people in California on immigration violations during a three-week sting targeting people who ignored deportation orders.

The agency said Friday that 495 of the 905 people arrested were targeted in the operation. The other 410 just happened to be on the scene when agents arrived.

Sounds like an excellent start, folks. Kudos, seriously. A follow up to that raid in Iowa I mentioned a couple of weeks ago shows that ICE is not playing the catch-and-release game I was concerned about. According to this NY Times story, about 270 illegals nabbed in that raid aren’t going to be deported just yet. First stop, prison.

In temporary courtrooms at a fairgrounds here, 270 illegal immigrants were sentenced this week to five months in prison for working at a meatpacking plant with false documents.

The prosecutions, which ended Friday, signal a sharp escalation in the Bush administration’s crackdown on illegal workers, with prosecutors bringing tough federal criminal charges against most of the immigrants arrested in a May 12 raid. Until now, unauthorized workers have generally been detained by immigration officials for civil violations and rapidly deported.

From the looks of things, it would appear that a case is being readied against the employer of those illegals, Agriprocessors, as it should be. Go, ICE, go.

(Hat tips: Michelle Malkin)