Federal authorities say they arrested 80 illegal immigrant criminals in Georgia and the Carolinas during a three-day “Cross Check” operation this week.

All of them had criminal convictions, including violent offenses such as aggravated assault, family violence and sexual battery of a minor, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE declined to identify them but said most were arrested in the Atlanta area.

ICE officials arrested 33 in Georgia, 32 in North Carolina and 15 in South Carolina. They came from Mexico, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. ICE is holding them pending removal -- or deportation -- proceedings.

Last month, ICE announced an illegal immigrant who was residing in Norcross after being convicted of sexual battery was among more than 3,100 people federal immigration authorities arrested during a similar nationwide Cross Check operation.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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