News Releases and Statements

This enforcement operation was implemented to address unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of violating multiple local DUI laws. In addition to DUI convictions, criminal histories of those arrested include, but were not limited to crimes involving assault, cruelty toward children, weapons violations, domestic violence, fraud, homicide by vehicle, hit-and-run, and larceny. Cases amenable to federal criminal prosecution may be presented to the appropriate U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Officers with the ICE ERO Seattle Field Office removed Manuel Antonio Baldizon, 52, a citizen of Guatemala, who was convicted in the U.S. of conspiracy to commit money laundering and is wanted by law enforcement authorities in his home country for criminal conspiracy, passive bribery, and laundering of money or other assets.

According to the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) designation by the National Security Law Section, Bakhtiyo Bazarovich Jumaev, 55, poses a threat to national security due to terrorism activities.

Dominguez Martinez, the first law enforcement partner outside the U.S. to receive the award, was recognized for leading Interpol Mexico’s contributions to ERO Mexico City’s Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) — a robust information sharing relationship with the Government of Mexico that supports ERO’s ability to identify, arrest, and remove fugitives with active criminal arrest warrants in Mexico from the United States.

According to court documents, Salamon Ruiz-Lopez, 48, had previously been deported five times between 2010 and 2011.

ICE works with correctional facilities to identify probable, removable noncitizens in the interest of public safety and lodges immigration detainers on individuals so ICE officers can take custody of that person in a safe and secure setting without further endangering the public.

 ERO apprehended Angel Adrian Bermejo, 26, in Chester, Virginia, after local authorities refused to honor an ICE detainer and released Bermejo from jail.

Manuel Oswaldo Guzman-Morales, a citizen and national of Ecuador, has had several prior arrests while in the United States.

On Aug. 25, Scottdale Police Department (SPD) officers arrested Guardado-Orellana, and charged him with kidnapping/apprehension of injury, kidnapping for ransom/hostage, domestic violence/endangerment, and custody interference of a child or incompetent person. On that same date, ICE officers interviewed Guardado-Orellana at the Maricopa County Jail (MCJ) in Phoenix, and lodged an Immigration Detainer-Notice of Action, Form I-247, with the MCJ.

Juan Diego Arteaga-Hernandez, 34, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced Sept. 8 to four years and four months in federal prison for illegal reentry into the U.S. after removal and being convicted of an aggravated felony. Arteaga-Hernandez pleaded guilty May 11.

Jose Manuel Soto-Ramirez, 33, was removed Aug. 29 via ICE Air Operations, arriving at the Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where he was turned over to authorities without incident.

Javier Alfredo Valle Anaya, 54, is a Colombian citizen who obtained status in the U.S. through fraudulent means. Valle Anaya is a former agent of Colombia’s now disbanded intelligence agency, the Administrative Security Department. He was arrested on immigration violations Oct. 5, 2018, by special agents with HSI New York.

Sharif Djabbarov is suspected of large-scale theft by the Uzbekistani authorities and human trafficking in the Dominican Republic.

Aldo Castillo-Caraveo, 52, is wanted in Mexico on domestic violence charges. Castillo was detained by ICE officers June 17 upon completion of his sentence with the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for illegal reentry.

Marin Fuentes Baltazar, 39, departed Miami International Airport to his destination of Harlingen, Texas, where he was turned over to authorities in Mexico via the Brownsville, Texas, port of entry.

On Aug. 16, ERO and the Webb County District Attorney’s Office (WCDAO), as part of a joint operation, apprehended Miguel Angel Ponce-Mejia, 43, a Mexican national who has been previously removed five times to Mexico. In December 2007, Ponce-Mejia was convicted of indecency with a child; he came to ERO’s attention via local law enforcement agencies after a local encounter.

Facility status and interventions for COVID-19 management are based on determinations by, and in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidance on Prevention and Management of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Correctional and Detention Facilities.

Michael Alberto Benitez-Castro, 19, was removed July 29 via ICE Air Operations, arriving at the Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador, where he was turned over to authorities without incident.

Luis Eduardo Morales, 46, was removed to El Salvador via ICE Air Operations charter and transferred into the custody of Salvadoran law enforcement officials upon arrival at the El Salvador National Airport.

Jesus Ricardo Romero-Hernandez, 30, is wanted for aggravated equal violation, defined by Mexican authorities as a crime of sexual intercourse with a minor, or who for any reason, is unable to voluntarily engage in sexual relations or resist criminal conduct.

Ahmad Bilal Cheema, 42, is wanted for murder in Pakistan. According to Pakistani law enforcement, Cheema along with two accomplices, allegedly murdered three individuals on or about Nov. 5, 2008.

Deportation officers transferred custody of Vigen Patatanyan, 59, to Armenian authorities at the Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, Armenia, without incident, May 7.

On July 13, officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) removed an unlawfully present foreign fugitive to his home country of Guatemala. Carlos Horacio Suarez Monroy, 39, was wanted by Guatemalan law enforcement authorities for aggravated sexual assault. Upon arrival in Guatemala, Suarez was turned over to Guatemalan National Police.

Martin Daniel Castillo-Rascon, 52, was removed from the United States to Mexico at the international boundary on top of the Stanton Street Bridge, where Mexican authorities took him into custody.

Those arrested had criminal histories or convictions for sexual abuse. Several individuals are registered sexual offenders. Everyone taken into custody is currently being detained pending the completion of removal proceedings, criminal prosecution, or removal from the United States.