The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 18 foreign nationals who were being pursued for their roles in known or suspected human rights violations or human smuggling and trafficking, the agency announced on Wednesday. The arrests came during a nationwide operation called “Operation No Safe Haven Plus” that concluded on Dec. 17. According to ICE, the operation included three additional collateral arrests of people who had final orders of removal, making the total number of those arrested 21. The 18 foreign nationals who were arrested all have outstanding removal orders and are to be repatriated to their countries of origin. Eleven are known or suspected human rights violators, and seven are affiliated with human smuggling or trafficking, the agency announced. Meanwhile, nine of the 18 had convictions for crimes that included human smuggling, human trafficking, negligent manslaughter, and weapons offenses. “These arrests are a critical piece of our ongoing …