News Releases and Statements

A group of 23 Mexican customs officers completed a rigorous 10-week training program modeled on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Training Program to prepare them to more effectively fight crime along the southern border and within Mexico.

A federal jury found a Colombian man guilty Wednesday of three drug conspiracy charges. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison for two of the conspiracy charges and a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for the third charge.

As part of ICE's ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, 28 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators were arrested during a five-day operation in northeastern Wisconsin which ended Tuesday.

A federal grand jury charged Mu-Tsun Tsai, 27, of Champaign, Ill., with distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography. Tsai was previously arrested and charged in a criminal complaint July 24. U.S. Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal ordered Tsai to remain in U.S. Marshals Service custody.

James R. Howard was sentenced to 20 years in prison for possessing more than 2,400 images and videos of child pornography. The sentence comes after an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Three individuals and a corporation are charged with fraud and bribery in connection with their alleged role in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme involving the procurement of a military contract for services in Afghanistan, according to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City Wednesday.

David Paul Moe, 45, of Denver, is currently in custody pending a bond release hearing. The grand jury charged Moe with distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography.

On Aug. 21, HSI special agents and partner law enforcement officers worked in teams to execute 17 federal search warrants.

A Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) indictment was unsealed Tuesday charging individuals with participating in a massive racketeering organization. These charges stem from an investigation led by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, which included sadistic conduct and other violent images involving minors.

Jose "Panama" Antonio Haughton, 36, is believed to have illegally posed as an immigration officer over the past several years. He is known by most people simply as "Panama." While he operated mostly from the Seattle/Tacoma area, investigators have identified victims in other parts of the country.

A brother and sister from north Texas were each sentenced Tuesday to more than two years in federal prison following their convictions for attempting to smuggle almost 900 rounds of ammunition and 17 firearms magazines into Mexico.

Yadwinder Singh pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to conspiring to unlawfully produce California driver's licenses, following a probe by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Investigations Division, Office of Internal Affairs.

A convicted felon from Mexico, Osbaldo Carrillo-Peralta, was sentenced Monday to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been twice deported. This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations' (ERO) and Mercer County Sheriff's Office.

An east Texas woman was sentenced Monday to 27 months in federal prison for bank fraud violations, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales, Eastern District of Texas.

A local federal jury convicted a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer Monday on two counts of making a false statement on an official federal form, and one count of making a false statement to a federal agent.

Robert Jacaman Sr. and Veronica Jacaman were arrested Monday after an 11-count federal indictment charged them with illegally selling firearms and ammunition they knew were destined for Mexico. This investigation is led by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Also convicted were 17 undocumented aliens who backpacked marijuana from Mexico.

The Town of Milford, with more than 1,500 employees, has partnered with ICE to protect the integrity of their workforce.

A Mexican national, murder suspect captured in northern California last month was turned over to Mexican law enforcement personnel Friday at the San Ysidro border crossing by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Herman H. Kamphuis, from Cedar Springs, Mich., was sentenced Thursday to 145 months in federal prison for traveling from his home to Columbus, Ohio, to have sex with whom he believed to be two pre-teen girls. The sentence follows an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

HSI Miami's command center, which also doubles as a regional emergency operations center, assists special agents with their investigative efforts.

Under the terms of the plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico, James Carney Ritterhoff will be sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.

An upstate New York man, who was convicted for production and possession of child pornography, was sentenced to 70 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release.

John M. Harris was sentenced today to six months in federal prison for criminal copyright infringement after he admitted he operated a DVD-burning factory from his residence and distributed pirated movies to vendors at the D.C. farmer's market. The sentence is the result of an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).