During a weeklong targeted enforcement operation from May 24 to May 31, ICE New Orleans, alongside federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, arrested 117 undocumented individuals in Sevier County and surrounding areas of East Tennessee. ICE claims the operation focused on individuals posing public safety risks, including those with criminal histories involving theft, domestic assault, driving while intoxicated, and attempted aggravated sexual battery, with some potentially facing additional charges for illegal reentry.

Specific individuals detained during the operation included Honduran nationals Jose Omar Euceda-Moreno, Denis Ariel Cabrera Castillo, Katherine Michelle Ocampo Figueroa, and Gerson Alberto Dempster, who have various past convictions and arrests ranging from drug possession and aggravated assault to attempted aggravated sexual battery.

Though it remains to be seen what charges, if any, the rest of the arrested may have.

Officials from both ICE and the Sevierville Police Department stated that the collaboration aims to maintain community safety for residents and visitors. Moving forward, individuals with final orders of removal who re-entered the country face immediate removal, while those without final orders will remain in ICE custody pending immigration court proceedings where they will receive due process.