News Releases and Statements

U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana sentenced Denny Fuentes, 48, from Splendora, Texas, to 15 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

Victor Manuel Romero-Diaz, 40, of El Salvador, received his conviction at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond April 14.

Pedro Saldivar Jr., 46, received the sentence without the possibility of parole for one count of transportation of child pornography. 

HSI Newark and representatives from HSI's CPAA program; DOS; and CBP conducted a repatriation ceremony April 25, 2023, hosted by the Bulgarian ambassador, to return ancient coins and other miscellaneous materials seized by U.S. law enforcement officials to the Bulgarian government.

The total number of SEVIS records for active F-1 and M-1 students was 1,362,157 in calendar year 2022, an increase of 10.1 percent from calendar year 2021.

HSI in partnership with ACAMS issued an alert today outlining anti-money laundering red flags and compliance guidance associated with so-called “pig-butchering,” a rising global fraud scheme that targets victims by earning their confidence over the course of weeks or months before soliciting money for fraudulent crypto-asset investments.

San Diego resident Roberto Salazar II, 26, who until his arrest was an active-duty U.S. Marine stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California, was sentenced in federal court April 21, to 144 months in prison for his role in a years-long drug importation and distribution conspiracy that involved dozens of smuggling events.

The Brazilian national, who is wanted for the Brazilian offense of fraud/use of false document, has been unlawfully present in the United States since his visa expired in November 2016.

Argelio Chavero, 50, of Alton, admitted to aiding and abetting another man to bring meth into the country before a federal judge.

ERO New York City removed Gina Zhou, 35, to the Marshall Islands April 18.

ICE's ERO announced Miguel Vergara’s selection to the Senior Executive Service April 25. Vergara will serve as the field office director (FOD) for the Harlingen field office.

The man, 39, entered the U.S. lawfully in July 2021 and remained after his visa expired.

An HSI Fayetteville investigation revealed that Steven Luckett, 38, sexually assaulted five minor children — some for years. U.S. District Court Judge Lee P. Rudofsky sentenced Luckett.

Nelly Guerra, 39, from Edinburg, pleaded guilty before a federal judge for importing 24 kilograms of crystal meth. According to court documents, Guerra attempted to enter the United States through the Donna Port of Entry.

On April 24, Hilda Diana Guerra-Villarreal, 74; Raul Rene Villarreal, 51; and Alma Urania Garcia, 33, all of Zapata, pleaded guilty to conspiring to conduct and conducting illegal gambling in Webb and Zapata counties. Four others — Rodolfo Ricardo Villarreal Jr., 37; Juan Vasco, 52; Ruben Samuel Villarreal, 28; and Maria Mendieta, 42 — entered their pleas to the same charges in 2022. Rodolfo Villareal Jr., Vasco and Ruben Villareal are from Zapata, and Mendieta is from Bruni.

A federal judge sentenced Taylor Melton Addington, 33, of Phoenix, April 13 to six years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his involvement in trafficking methamphetamine following an investigation by HSI.

HSI San Juan special agents arrested Ignacio Manuel Delgado Fernandez in San Juan’s Cupey area for the distribution, receipt, transportation and possession of child sexual abuse material. The Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force assisted in the investigation.

Sean Graham pleaded guilty April 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to possession with intent to distribute more than 180 grams of methamphetamines.

Norman Antoine LeBlanc, age 34, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles to production and attempted production of child pornography. As a result of his conviction, LeBlanc faces imprisonment, fines and a period of supervised release that includes sex offender registration.

ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer seeking his custody with the Brockton, Massachusetts District Court and the Plymouth County House of Correction on April 4.

Mary De Anda-Ybarra, a native El Pasoan with more than 27 years of federal law enforcement experience, is the new field office director for ERO in El Paso, Texas.

Trajahn Alexander Johnson, 25, of Glendale, Arizona, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Johnson, the final co-conspirator to be sentenced, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death. 

HSI International Operations Deputy Assistant Director Ricardo Mayoral and H.E. Mr. Marios Lysiotis, ambassador of Cyprus at the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Washington D.C., sign a certificate of transfer for Cypriot pottery during a repatriation ceremony April 20, 2023.

The efforts targeted noncitizens who have public safety arrests or convictions with a final order of removal and no pending appeals. They also targeted noncitizens released from Orleans Parish where immigration detainers were not honored.

The technology demonstration will begin with a limited deployment in Denver to test feasibility in an operational setting.