Operation Suffolk Predator: Sex offenders from Latin America

Police have rounded up a number of illegal immigrants who were sexual predators:

Suffolk County cops rounded up 27 registered sex offenders during a predawn raid yesterday morning, after an investigation revealed that they were in the country illegally.

Cops said the men, all Latin American immigrants, had at some point been convicted of sex crimes against children ranging in age from six to 12 years, but were eventually released after serving out their sentences.

The sweep, dubbed "Operation Suffolk Predator," was carried out by Suffolk County Police, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Agents scoured the Suffolk County sex offender registry in an effort to identify illegal aliens with the aim of having them expelled from the country. The men were transferred into federal custody yesterday and await deportation hearings.

"They preyed upon the most vulnerable in our community," said Salvatore Dalessandro, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "These are all criminal aliens."

Dalessandro said that all the men had served jail time after their initial convictions, but would not comment on why they were not immediately deported. "We are trying to close the loopholes," he said. "We're working toward repairing those breakdowns."

Cops said they hoped that those arrested yesterday will be sent back to their native countries within the next 30 days.

The Suffolk County effort is part of a nationwide initiative by the Department of Homeland Security to expel sex offenders in the country illegally. Roughly 5,000 people have been arrested in "Operation Predator," 300 of them in New York state.

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