News Releases and Statements

Bosnian Herzegovinian national Ramiz Zijad Hodzic, 47, was flown from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Bosnia-Herzegovina Airport, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina on a flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations Unit.

Nathaniel Hibdon, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Hibdon to pay a $5,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

On April 19, a federal grand jury returned a multi-count indictment against the following citizens of Mexico, Oscar Obed Manzanares, 22, Jose Bernardo Gonzalez-Gomez, 55, Jose Santiago Luna-Duran, 45, Arlando Garcia-Garcia, 40, and Martin Vela-Alanis, 58, both legal permanent residents from Edinburg, Texas; and Martin Adrusbel Vela, 35, also from Edinburg.

On April 19, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Daniel Chavez, 29, from Elkhart, Texas. He was originally charged by criminal complaint.

The operation kicked off at 10:00 a.m. on April 18, during a ceremony at the Virginia Welcome Center in on I-95 in Caroline County, Virginia. The operation will continue through April 20.

Donovan Lang, 27, from Sioux City, Iowa, pled guilty on November 19, 2021, to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

William Hageman, 56, from rural Cherokee County, Iowa, pled guilty on December 17, 2021, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of firearms by a prohibited person.

ICE's HSI Detroit repatriated two ammonite fossils to Madagascar April 4.

The United States Attorney’s office awarded Joshua Lankford, 33, and Lakeya Aldridge, 41, both of Federalsburg, Maryland to 17 years and nine years in federal prison respectively for their roles in the offense. The pair used drugs to control their victim, and later threatened to kill her in order to prevent her from providing testimony at their trial. Lankford, who led and organized the conspiracy was sentenced on April 8, and Aldridge was sentenced on April 14.

A total of 13 people were arrested Wednesday in connection to a large-scale narcotics trafficking operation following an investigation by multiple federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE's HSI special agents in Kentucky.

According to court documents, Charles Howard, 41, sexually abused and exploited a 15-year-old minor female in his care and threatened to kill her and himself if she disclosed the abuse.

The teenage defendant, currently in law enforcement custody, is alleged to have made several threats claiming he was armed with a firearm and was going to “shoot up” a certain school or on his way to a certain school. The suspect is accused of offenses stemming from the numerous “swatting” calls he made to schools and businesses over the past several days. Further, he is also accused of possessing indecent images of children and distributing them across the internet.

Sentenced was Stephen Shipps, 69, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. In sentencing Shipps, United States District Judge Denise Page Hood also ordered Shipps to pay restitution to his victim in the amount of $120,000.00.

Sean McClanahan, 51, of Dearborn, Michigan, was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison on charges of distributing child pornography, announced acting Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris, III, ICE HSI Detroit.

Luke Law, 20, from Dallas, Texas, was sentenced April 14 in federal court to 60 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the judge ordered the defendant to speak to high school students at least three times a year about avoiding drugs and avoiding the choices he made.

William Hernando Usma Acosta, 61, who fled Colombia following the June 19, 1994, murder of his wife, Laura Rose Agudelo, in Medellin, Colombia, and the attempted murder of his daughter, has been residing in Belmont, Massachusetts, under the alias Carlos Alberto Rendon. The murder was the result of a domestic violence incident in which Usma Acosta shot and killed his wife, and then shot his daughter as she tried to intervene. He fled Colombia shortly after the incident and is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice.

Dennis Tyler Murray, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 20 years in federal prison without parole.

Jahara William Byfield, 23, of Sunrise, Florida, was a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona for training when he was arrested on Aug. 28, 2020.

According to the investigation, from April 2020 through February 2021, Ruben Verastigui, 29, was active in an online group devoted to trading child pornography and discussing child sexual abuse. Verastigui shared child pornography videos with another member of the group and made numerous comments about sexually abusing children.

All foreign nationals arrested during this operation have outstanding final orders of removal and are subject to repatriation to their countries of origin. Thirteen individuals are also in the U.S. with convictions for crimes including, but not limited to, homicide, aggravated assault with a weapon, burglary, disorderly conduct, damage property, larceny, indecent exposure, resisting officer, and DUI offenses.

James Theodore Polzin, 48, of Gilbert, Arizona, pleaded guilty in October 2021.

ICE today announced new policies to strengthen protections for detained noncitizens with serious mental disorders or conditions. The new guidance, addressed in ICE Directive 11063.2 Identification, Communication, Recordkeeping, and Safe Release Planning for Detained Individuals with Serious Mental Disorders or Conditions, focuses on the identification, treatment, and monitoring of this particularly vulnerable population.

Manuel Dominquez, 29, from Laredo, was sentenced April 11 by U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana to serve 87 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the Judge noted Dominguez’s violent criminal history, the cache of weapons and ammunition in his home and the fact he was attempting to smuggle high-powered rifles into Mexico. Dominquez pleaded guilty Aug. 12, 2021.

Salvadoran national Jose Alexander Mejia-Rivas, 35, was flown from Alexandria, Louisiana to El Salvador International Airport on a flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations Unit. Upon arrival, the fugitive was turned over to Salvadoran officials on April 8.

Antonio Hurtado had a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo, where he admitted that on the evening of May 1, 2021, and into the following morning, he piloted a vessel from Mexico into the United States. Aboard the vessel were 32 individuals who had agreed to pay between $15,000 and $18,000 each to be brought into the United States illegally, including three unaccompanied minors.