Federal agents arrested 47 illegal immigrants in South Bend, Mishawaka, Goshen, Elkhart and Nappanee in a four-day operation that ended Monday, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The immigrants were among 144 who were arrested in a wider operation that included Chicago and its suburbs, ICE reports.

A Goshen group will talk about the operation at its meeting Wednesday night.

ICE says it targeted "fugitive aliens" who failed to appear for immigration hearings or who didn’t leave the United States after being ordered to do so by a federal immigration judge.

Of them, 110 already had deportation orders against them, ICE reports.

They were arrested at workplaces and homes, says ICE spokeswoman Gail Montenegro.

Here, she says, is how many were arrested by community and country of origin:

— South Bend: one from El Salvador, one from China, three from Kenya;

— Mishawaka: two from Honduras, one from Mexico;

— Goshen: eight from Mexico, three from China;

— Elkhart: three from El Salvador, 12 from Mexico, seven from China, two from Malawi, two from Honduras;

— Nappanee: one from Honduras, one from Colombia.

"ICE has teams located across the country to specifically target anyone who ignores deportation orders handed down by federal immigration judges," said Glenn Triveline, field office director for the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Chicago.

At its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Goshen-Apan Community Center in Goshen will talk about deportation concerns, trying to allay fears. That meeting will be at Twin Pines Mobile Home Park Office, located at 2011 W. Wilden Ave.

Staff writer Joseph Dits:
jdits@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6158