2,900 Arrested in US Illegal Immigration Sweep

US authorities arrested 2,900 illegal immigrants with criminal records during a seven-day nationwide sweep, the biggest of its kind, immigration officials said Wednesday.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said the operation, which it dubbed "Cross Check", "led to the arrest of more than 2,900 convicted criminal aliens."

The operation was carried out over a one-week period in all 50 US states and overseas territories, as part of the US administration's strategy to focus on people with criminal records who are in the country illegally.

"The results of this targeted enforcement operation underscore ICE's ongoing commitment and focus on the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens and those who game our nation's immigration system," ICE director John Morton said.

Of those detained, 1,282 had multiple convictions to their name, and more than 1,600 had served sentences for crimes like armed robbery, attempted murder, kidnapping or drug trafficking, the agency said.

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