650 Arrested During ICE Operation In W.Va.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, working with state and local law enforcement, arrested 650 people in West Virginia over 14 days in January. 

According to a news release from the ICE office as well as the office of U.S. Attorney Moore Capito of the Southern District of West Virginia, some of those arrested during Operation Country Roads in West Virginia from Jan. 5 – 19 had prior convictions for child sex abuse, drug possession and endangering the welfare of children. 

ICE officials say Sagar Singh and Ling Yan were among the most egregious offenders arrested. 

According to the ICE release, Singh is a citizen of India and was stopped driving a commercial vehicle after he failed to stop at a mandatory brake check station. ICE officials say he was stopped as part of a joint operation entitled Operation ICE Wall, was cited for operating an unsafe commercial vehicle and had a previous order for removal.

Yan, the release said, had previously been convicted of two counts of endangering the welfare of children in Ravenna County, Ohio, and has a final order of removal.

ICE surge teams were deployed to Martinsburg, Moorefield, Morgantown, Beckley, Huntington and Charleston as part of the operation.

It was conducted under ICE’s 287(g) program which authorizes ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration functions under ICE’s direction and oversight. 

Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed the 287(g) agreement last August. 

January’s operation represents a significant escalation since October, when Morrisey announced that 60 people had been arrested in the two months since the agreement was signed.