The Irving Police Department has addressed concerns regarding its involvement with Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) in deporting non-criminal undocumented immigrants.
A department spokesperson provided the following information:
- Random Stops: Irving Police officers do not conduct targeted enforcement for immigration purposes.
- Traffic Violations: Officers do not contact ICE for routine traffic violations.
- Raids: The department has no plans to conduct operations targeting undocumented immigrants at schools or churches.
- Warrants: If an individual with a valid NCIC warrant is encountered, they may be subject to arrest.
The spokesperson also noted that if an undocumented person is arrested, INS-Dallas/Fort Worth may issue an immigration hold for deportation. This should serve as a warning to any undocumented immigrants to not break the law beyond being in the county illegally.
Recent arrests involving undocumented individuals include:
- Carlos Alvarez-Mejia, 20: Arrested for DWI.
- Manuel Ayala-Cruz, 40: Arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance.
- Esquivel Candido, 24: Arrested for Domestic Violence-Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
- Heron Cervantes-Mentado, 44: Arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance and DWI.
- Florencio Ivan Perez-Parrales, 26: Arrested for Possession of Marijuana (under 2 ounces).
These individuals were arrested within the past two days and are facing deportation. It is no secret, that many undocumented families reside in Irving. While driving near Home Depot on Irving Blvd early in the mornings, a number of undocumented men can be seen walking the streets as they wait to be picked up for work. It seems that as long as these hard-working individuals stay out of trouble, they will not be targeted by police officers.
