CHARLESTON Ƶ ƵWeƵre going to be cracking down pretty hard on illegal immigration in West Virginia,Ƶ Gov. Patrick Morrisey said during a news conference Thursday, before detailing a total of 72 people had been arrested as of late Wednesday in a statewide sweep by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Of the 72 detainees, Morrisey said 13 were already serving sentences in state prisons and regional jails for a variety of criminal offenses, including one immigrant inmate with a murder conviction.
The governor said 36 of the detainees were picked up for violating immigration laws. They were apprehended Ƶnot for simply walking across the border,Ƶ but for such offenses as failing to respond to deportation orders, violating court orders, not appearing at scheduled immigration hearings, or for reentering the U.S. and West Virginia after having been deported.
Others were arrested on ICE hold orders, state criminal charges or other immigration violations, he said.
Morrisey said those apprehended in the sweep were being housed in:
Salem Correctional Center, Harrison County
St. Marys Correctional Center, Pleasants County
Stevens Correctional Center, McDowell County
Huttonsville Correctional Center, Randolph County
Mount Olive Correctional Complex, Fayette County
Central, South Central, Eastern, North Central, Southern and Northern regional jails
Ƶ of midday Thursday, ICE had transferred 10 of the 72 detainees to correctional facilities in Kentucky, Morrisey said.
While West Virginia may not be a border state dealing large numbers of undocumented immigrants, they still pose a major threat to the state, Morrisey said.
ƵIllegal immigration issues go hand in hand with the drug epidemic in West Virginia,Ƶ Morrisey said. ƵWe see it in West Virginia through the fentanyl that comes in. The linkage between illegal immigration and death in our state is very real. In West Virginia, we know that there have been over 1,300 overdose deaths Ƶ 80% of them from fentanyl.Ƶ
While both Morrisey and President Trump contend undocumented immigrants are the primary source of illegal fentanyl entering the nation, 2024 data from the bipartisan indicates that U.S. citizens crossing the border at designated ports of entry accounted for 86.4% of those sentenced for trafficking fentanyl. A mixture of both legal and illegal immigrants passing through border checkpoints accounted for the remaining arrests.
Morrisey said at ThursdayƵs briefing that he signed an executive order directing all state law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE personnel in illegal immigration enforcement, as mandated by the Trump administration.
ƵIƵm so thankful we have President Trump in the White House,Ƶ Morrisey said. ƵHe has taken on this illegal immigration problem ... and weƵre going to partner with the president to go after this deadly issue.Ƶ
Rick Steelhammer is a features reporter. He can be reached at 304-348-5169 or rsteelhammer@hdmediallc.com. Follow
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