CHARLESTON — Gov. Patrick Morrisey said West Virginia’s partnership with federal immigration enforcement officials netted the arrest of a dozen people suspected of being in the country illegally on the West Virginia Turnpike over the weekend.

In a press release Tuesday, Morrisey said a coordinated enforcement effort between the West Virginia State Police and the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement resulted in the arrest of 12 people between Sunday and Monday suspected of being undocumented migrants.

The suspects were arrested during traffic stops on the West Virginia Turnpike section of Interstate 77 near Pax in Fayette County. The 12 individuals were arrested for immigration violations and transported to the South Central Regional Jail in Kanawha County. The State Police’s Parkways Interdiction Team participated in the traffic stops.

Morrisey signed an executive order in January directing the state Department of Homeland Security, the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the State Police, and county and city law enforcement to cooperate with ICE and other federal law enforcement officials. Morrisey announced in August that memorandums of understanding have been signed between ICE and state law enforcement and correctional agencies in support of immigration policies put in place by President Donald Trump.

“I am proud to have West Virginia’s law enforcement working together with ICE to enforce the nation’s immigration laws and support President Trump’s border policies,” Morrisey said in a statement. “This partnership is already producing results with a dozen arrests made in just the past few days. I want to commend the WVSP for their work as we continue to support actions that protect West Virginians.”

Morrisey said the State Police was operating under a provision in the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. The program allows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to work with state, county, and city law enforcement officers to take part in specific immigration enforcement roles.

Morrisey signed a letter of intent in February to participate in the program. The state is also participating in the Warrant Service Officer Program, which allows state and local law enforcement to serve ICE administrative warrants.

Trump announced several executive orders in January following his inauguration last week. These orders included declaring a state of emergency at the southern border, reinstating the Remain in Mexico asylum policy, ending the catch-and-release policy for undocumented immigrants, sending federal troops to the border, and designating South American drug cartels as terrorist organizations.

Trump also signed the Laken Riley Act, which requires any undocumented immigrant to be held without bail in federal detention facilities and subject to deportation when arrested on certain theft-related misdemeanors, such burglary, shoplifting, and larceny.

While ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have made arresting migrants with violent criminal histories a priority, federal officials have come under fire for also rounding up undocumented residents with no prior criminal histories. According to Stateline, convicted criminals make up less than half of ICE arrests between Jan. 20 and the end of June.