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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 82 illegal immigrants in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area as part of in a five-day sting that concluded March 30, according to a press release Wednesday.

The standard enforcement operation targeted criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and immigration fugitives. Virginia topped Maryland and the District of Columbia with the highest number of arrests at 79. D.C. followed with two arrests, while only one Maryland resident was taken into custody.

About 80 percent of the arrestees have been convicted of criminal offenses in addition to illegally residing in the country, including crimes like armed robbery, larceny and drug distribution. The other 14 people were seized for ties to the MS-13 gang, outstanding deportation orders, overstaying visas, being wanted by a foreign law enforcement organization, being a verified human rights violator.

The detainees came from 26 different countries, including Algeria, Bolivia, China, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Iran, Jamaica, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Somalia, South Korea, Sudan, Trinidad, Vietnam and Sierra Leone.

"ICE conducts targeted immigration enforcement operations focused on criminal aliens," ERO Washington Field Office Director Yvonne Evans said in a statement. "This week's operation successfully removed immigration violators with a variety of criminal convictions ranging from driving under the influence to grand larceny from our communities."

Last fiscal year, ICE conducted 240,255 removals nationwide. Recently announced busts in the D.C. metropolitan region, New York and Texas will contribute to 2017 numbers.

The operation is one of many since President Trump signed an executive order directing immigration agents to fully implement the laws outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act, prompting some to label the operations as an inaugural move to deport illegal aliens.

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Immigration officers arrest 79 illegal immigrants from 26 countries near DC - Washington Examiner