Photo by Steven Allen Adams Gov. Patrick Morrisey was joined by state and local law enforcement officials Thursday to announce ongoing immigration enforcement actions and a major drug bust in Southern West Virginia.

CHARLESTON — Gov. Patrick Morrisey and West Virginia law enforcement officials on Thursday announced additional operations with federal immigration authorities, as well as a separate action that netted a large amount of narcotics.

In a press conference Thursday morning in the Governor’s Reception Room at the State Capitol Building, Morrisey announced the arrest of 37 people in the country illegally by the West Virginia State Police in the first 11 days of direct operation with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

“At the beginning of my administration, I pledged to work hand-in-hand with President Donald Trump and his administration to enforce our nation’s immigration laws,” Morrisey said. “When (illegal immigration) started to happen, we knew that this was a big assault on the sovereignty of West Virginia and the rule of law and also was an insult to those who immigrated here the right way.”

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 memoranda of understanding have been signed between ICE and state law enforcement and correctional agencies in support of immigration policies put in place by Trump’s administration.

Morrisey said the State Police was operating under the ICE 287(g) program through 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 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.

Of those 37 arrests, 27 came through traffic stops on the West Virginia Turnpike on Interstate 77. Another 10 came through DUI checkpoints operated by the State Police. Additionally, more than 1,000 ICE detainees have been processed by the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation since January, with 355 processed since Aug. 12.

“That’s an unbelievable and astonishing number given the size of our state,” Morrisey said. “Remember everyone said that the immigration problem didn’t affect West Virginia?

“They weren’t being honest with you. It does have a real impact here, which is why we focused on it.”

West Virginia is also financially benefiting from processing detainees for ICE in state correctional facilities. According to West Virginia Watch, ICE pays DCR $90 per day, with the state billing ICE for nearly $340,000 between June and July. DCR facilities participating include the South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, the Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville and the Eastern Regional Jail in Martinsburg.

Morrisey also announced that the State Police, in cooperation with local law enforcement in Mercer County, made one of West Virginia’s largest drug busts after a month-long investigation.

“If you’re a drug dealer and you’re operating or trying to operate in West Virginia, we are coming for you and we’re not going to stop,” Morrisey said. “There’s a level of aggressiveness to protect our citizens that you haven’t seen before.”

After executing multiple search warrants on Sept. 10, officers seized more than 54 pounds of fentanyl with a street value of more than $825,000, as well as 70 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and 23 pounds of marijuana. Other items seized included 15 firearms and three brick presses used to compress drugs in powder form into a solid brick for transporting.

The suspects face charges of delivery of methamphetamine, delivery of fentanyl and conspiracy to deliver fentanyl. One of the individuals is reportedly on federal probation for other drug charges. Evidence from the bust suggests a link to larger, organized drug trafficking operations.

“These bricks of fentanyl have inscriptions that can act as a signature for certain types of gangs and dealers,” Morrisey said. “The Mexican drug cartels are a real problem. They’re a problem nationally, and we’re worried about the impact that they have in West Virginia. We know that some of these inscriptions have been seen in other cases across the country, which means that this could be part of a broader drug operation and efforts by the bad guys.”

Other partners involved in the operation included the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department and Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Cochran, the Bluefield Police Department, sheriff’s departments in Wyoming and McDowell counties, the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Drug Task Force and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program.

While the ICE operations and the Sept. 10 fentanyl bust are separate actions, both Morrisey and State Police Superintendent Col. Jim Mitchell linked them together with West Virginia’s shrinking but still substantial substance use disorder crisis largely being driven by fentanyl sourced from China and transported into the country through the southern border.

“If you are here in West Virginia illegally, you’re not welcomed here,” Mitchell said. “If you’re in West Virginia with the intention of violating law and spreading the drug usage and selling drugs, you are not welcomed here. We don’t want you to unpack your bags, and we don’t want you to feel comfortable.”

“When I served as attorney general, I repeatedly focused on the fact that West Virginia was a border state when it came to the immigration problem because we saw so much illicit fentanyl and drugs flood into our state,” Morrisey said. “We’re committing ourselves to the rule of law to stopping illegal immigration and mitigating all the consequences that it has on citizens especially when it comes to the illicit drug trade.”