Fifty-three undocumented foreign nationals living in Kentucky were recently arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
An immigration order issued by President Trump in late January said any immigrant living in the country illegally could be up for deportation, but the government has described the arrests as routine.
Arrests were made last month in Louisville, Lexington, Shelbyville, and Owensboro. Twenty-two of the 53 illegal immigrants were convicted criminals. Their convictions included DUI, burglary, drug possession, theft, and wanton endangerment.
Eleven had been previously deported from the U.S. and illegally re-entered. Most were from Guatemala and Mexico. Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to be interviewed, but said the arrests were not part of a raid or crackdown. According to ICE, the Kentucky arrests were the result of targeted enforcement operations across the nation which are done regularly.
The government says it focused on immigrants in the country illegally who posed a threat to national security or public safety.
