News Releases and Statements
News Releases and Statements
Speaking at an Aug. 31 roundtable in Laredo, HSI San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee, CBP Acting Director of Field Operations for Laredo Eugene Crawford, ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Field Division Robert Topper, Houston U.S. Postal Inspection Service Chief Scott Fix, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Makens stressed that interdicting southbound firearms prevents criminal cartels from using them in illicit activity, such as the production and trafficking of fentanyl.
Officers focused enforcement efforts against priority removable fugitive noncitizens — specifically, those identified as having criminal convictions for crimes including, but not limited to, burglary, domestic violence, driving under the influence, drug distribution or trafficking, sexual abuse or exploitation, or unlawful possession or use of a firearm — as well as noncitizens with an executable final order of removal who have reentered the United States illegally after having been previously removed.
Brayan Gramajo-Jolomna, 36, was flown from Chicago on a flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations Unit to the La Aurora Airport in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Upon arrival in Guatemala, ERO turned Gramajo-Jolomna over to local authorities without incident.
On Sept. 1, ERO New York City announced the local results of a nationwide enforcement operation during which officers apprehended 38 removable noncitizens determined to be a threat to national security, public safety or border security between Aug. 4 and 25.
ERO Baltimore arrested an undocumented noncitizen from El Salvador who had previously been removed from the United States following his conviction for a sex crime in Virginia. Deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Fugitive Operations Team apprehended the 48-year-old Salvadoran national Aug. 23 at his residence in Clinton.
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.
HSI, partner investigation results in former Texas trooper’s guilty plea for lying to federal agents
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.
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