News Releases and Statements

After the fall of drug lord Pablo Escobar, a number of cartels leapt at the chance to seize control of the Colombian drug trade.

Paul Pavulak of New Castle, DE was sentenced today to life in prison for various child exploitation offenses as the result of an investigation conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Delaware State Police's Child Predator Task Force and High Technology Crimes Unit.

Sharon Anderson, 38, formerly of Ennis, Texas, and her husband, Buddy Anderson, 39, were arrested March 24 by ICE HSI special agents on charges outlined in a federal criminal complaint.

Esteban Ochoa-Almendariz, 24, who resided in Wichita at the time of his arrest, was sentenced Oct. 3 in U.S. District Court in Wichita.

An upstate New York man pleaded guilty to the unauthorized use, transfer, acquisition, alteration and possession of food stamp benefits. The plea is the culmination of an investigation being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the USDA, Office of the Inspector General.

A 26-year-old University of Texas at El Paso student was sentenced Friday to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to downloading and possessing child pornography. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case. A forensics examination of confiscated laptops belonging to Luis Enriquez-Alonso revealed 5,400 images...

Christopher Thomas Davis, 32, of Dahlonega, Ga., was a deputy sheriff at the White County, Ga., Sheriff's Office prior to his arrest on Aug. 25. He was indicted Sept. 20.

A native and citizen of Mexico, who was convicted of harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage, was sentenced to 12 months in prison. The sentence is the result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A man who fled to the United States after previously being deported to Mexico in 2004 was deported again on Friday to face charges in Mexico of aggravated robbery with a firearm.

A 33-year-old El Salvadoran national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) passed away Sunday afternoon at the University of Virginia (UVA) Medical Center in Charlottesville, Va.

A series of arrests and search warrants at several restaurants and residences in Maine has resulted in charges against 10 individuals who were taken into custody by special agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

In the largest operation of its kind, 81 countries took part in an international week of action targeting the online sale of counterfeit and illegal medicines. This operation resulted in dozens of arrests and the seizure of 2.4 million potentially harmful medicines worldwide worth $6.3 million.

Alejandro Tovar, 44, of Houston, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison without parole for conspiring to transport illegal aliens within the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain by U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal.

A Mexican national residing in Wisconsin was sentenced to one year and a day in prison Friday for illegally re-entering the United States after deportation.

Twenty-four civilian contract employees working on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam were arrested for outstanding warrants Wednesday and Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Giovanni Vazquez, also known as "Screech," 24, of Norwalk, Conn., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Holly B. Fitzsimmons in Bridgeport, Conn.

James Goodman of Springfield, Ohio pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children for using the Internet to attempt to arrange a sexually explicit photo shoot of young girls following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents executed five federal search warrants in an intellectual property rights investigation related to counterfeit goods in Tampa.

A Virginia painting company, Thesis Painting, is partnering with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) IMAGE program, or ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers, to reduce fraud and the hiring of illegal workers.

Barratt Eni of Little Rock, Ark., pleaded guilty Thursday to possession of more than 500 grams of cocaine with the intent to distribute, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI). On July 9, federal agents contacted Eni at the Orlando International Airport.

Doyce Dean Griffis of Starke, Fla., was indicted on child pornography charges Thursday, following an investigation by the Bradford County Sheriff's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Osvaldo A. Mercado of Gainesville, Va. was indicted by a federal grand jury for defrauding Virginia banks of nearly $3.4 million in fraudulent loans following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Washington, D.C. along with FBI's Washington Field Office and the FDIC Office of Inspector General.

John E. Widdows, 72, of Cumberland, Md., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg. Widdows must also register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that 8,893 Mexican citizens agreed to voluntarily return to their hometowns in the interior of Mexico by participating in the Mexican Interior Repatriation Program (MIRP), a bilaterally beneficial voluntary program that ensures the safe and swift return of Mexican nationals found..

Shawn Joseph McCormack, of Black Forest, Colo., is accused of sexually exploiting the child. The indictment is the result of an extensive investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in Bakersfield; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Boston, along with the Bakersfield and Colorado Springs police departments.