News Releases and Statements

Officers focused enforcement efforts on priority fugitive noncitizens and priority noncitizens previously removed from the U.S. who reentered the country illegally; specifically, those identified as having a criminal conviction for certain felonies or convictions for other crimes including but not limited to murder for hire, manslaughter, sex crimes against children, assault with a firearm, battery, domestic violence, drug trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence.

The investigation, dubbed Operation Frozen River, is the result of ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force efforts, a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. In addition to the arrests, law enforcement personnel seized approximately 6 pounds of fentanyl, 35 pounds of methamphetamine, several pounds of marijuana, 30 firearms, one firearm suppressor, and $140,000 in U.S. currency.

According to court documents, authorities arrested Elroy Wilkerson, 60, on Nov. 17, 2022, based on allegations that he had been taking nude photos of a minor at his home in Monahans.

Individuals who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States are ordered removed, consistent with U.S. law – all individuals who are removed have been screened for protection concerns.

Antonio David Osorio-Lucas, 23, who had a final order of removal, was flown to Guatemala on a charter flight operated by ICE's Air Operations Unit. ERO officers turned custody of Osorio-Lucas over to local authorities at the La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

On Aug. 31, a federal judge sentenced Pedro Cruz Almeida Jr., 22, of Pharr, to serve 50 months in prison immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Iheanyichukwu Jonathan Abraham, 44, was part of a group of fraudsters who sent personalized letters to elderly victims in the United States, falsely claiming that the sender was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the recipient was entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance left by a family member who had died years before in Portugal.

Individuals who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States are ordered removed, consistent with U.S. law – all individuals who are removed have been screened for protection concerns.

Miguel Tellez-Vasquez, 57, is wanted in his native Mexico for homicide. He was transported Aug. 30 from Boise, Idaho, via air transport and arrived the same day in San Diego, where authorities drove him to the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Upon arrival at the border, Tellez was turned over to local authorities in Mexico.

According to admissions in the plea agreement, James Charles Rivera, 32, of New York, operated on the dark web under the moniker “JuicePal.” He arranged and directed the distribution of steroids in nearly every state in the United States, as well as to Canada, Germany, Australia, and countries in the United Kingdom and the European Union from 2018 to 2021.

Tien Tan Vo, 47, of El Centro, pleaded guilty to receipt of misbranded drugs in interstate commerce and being an accessory after the fact to an accomplice, who smuggled the unapproved drugs into the United States from Mexico.

Pedro Escamilla Del Rosario, 44, pleaded guilty on March 27 to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor.

ERO Houston, with assistance from ERO Mexico and the SAFE Task Force, removed Martin Israel Quintero Uresti, a 43-year-old unlawfully present Mexican national, from the U.S. on Aug. 25.

Paul Ryan, 24, also known as Patrick Power, is wanted in the U.K. for the charge of rioting. He was flown from Boston Logan International Airport to London’s Heathrow Airport in the U.K. and handed over to local authorities.

Pablo Talavera Jr., 35, of Pharr, was a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. At his plea hearing Aug. 28, he admitted he lied to federal agents regarding his knowledge of his family’s involvement in drug trafficking.

ERO Salt Lake City officers apprehended seven foreign nationals convicted of crimes with a sexual basis requiring them to register as sex offenders during a two-week local enforcement effort.

Wilmer Rivera-Hernandez pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to interstate travel with intent to engage in a sex act with a minor.

Andrew Joel Galvan, a 27-year-old resident of Houston, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 360 months for each count of producing child pornography to run concurrently, and to 120 months total for receiving and possessing child pornography.

Individuals who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States are ordered removed, consistent with U.S. law – all individuals who are removed have been screened for protection concerns.

Ja-Anthony Ledell Kennedy, 26, pleaded guilty to receiving child sexual abuse material on April 24. In addition to his prison sentence, Kennedy was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to his victims and will be required to register as a sex offender.

The antiquities were stolen in 2008 from a private collection and museum in Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila, Mexico.

On Aug. 24, Jose Antonio Carlos III, 22, of Laredo, was arrested without incident. Carlos is expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher dos Santos on Aug. 25.

Dan McClure, a 71-year-old resident of Pearland, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to serve 262 months for the receipt of child pornography and 240 months for the possession of child pornography.

Rodney Williams, 53, of Harrisonburg, received the sentence Aug. 14 at the Rockingham County Circuit Court in Harrisonburg.

Individuals who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States are ordered removed, consistent with U.S. law – all individuals who are removed have been screened for protection concerns.