News Releases and Statements

Ysidro Mendoza-Guzman, 33, was transferred to the custody of representatives from Mexico’s Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) and Mexican immigration officials by ERO Special Response Team (SRT) officers at the Nogales DeConcini Port of Entry. He came into ICE custody July 7 following his release from federal prison. 

Ziming Zhou, 47, entered the United States lawfully on May 6, 2014, in Los Angeles s a non-immigrant visitor for pleasure with authorization to remain in the country until Nov. 5, 2014. Zhou failed to depart within the allotted time frame. On Feb. 11, 2016, ERO Newark arrested Zhou at his place of residence.

Anner Javier Maldonado-Reyes, 39, of Largo, and Maria Guadalupe Maldonado, 38, of Largo, are both citizens of Honduras. According to the indictments, Anner Maldonado-Reyes, who has operated under several aliases over the years, including “Jose Martinez-Reyes,” “Juan Martinez,” and “Pedro Vargas-Monteramos,” has previously been removed from the U.S. on at least two occasions: February 1999 and February 2008.

Kelbin Alberto Perez De Los Santos, 36, entered the United States lawfully on July 15, 2016, in New York, as a non-immigrant visitor for pleasure, with authorization to remain in the United States for a temporary period not to exceed January 14, 2017. On February 21, 2017, ERO Newark arrested Perez upon determination that he was wanted in the Dominican Republic for homicide.

The WPFG is a biennial Olympic-style athletic event held over a period of 11 days with competitions in more than 60 sports, open to active and retired law enforcement and fire service personnel from around the world.

A federal grand jury charged 10 individuals with conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence in an indictment returned July 27. Five other individuals were arrested and charged in criminal complaints with federal immigration-related crimes. Two of the 15 remain fugitives.

ERO deportation officers escorted Robert John Dando, a 53-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom, as he departed the United States via a commercial flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Heathrow Airport in London.

In the course of Operation SOAR, ERO officers apprehended 32 individuals with past criminal convictions ranging from sexual abuse to attempted rape. Of those arrested, 12 are registered sexual offenders. Each taken into custody is currently being detained pending the completion of removal proceedings.

Carlos Chavez, 34, has been a fugitive since March 2003 when a superior court judge in Fulton County, Georgia, issued a warrant for Chavez’s arrest. Chavez is accused of shooting and killing Francisco Chavez (no relation) with a handgun.

ICE continues to focus its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. ICE conducts targeted immigration enforcement in compliance with federal law and agency policy. However, as ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan has made clear, ICE does not exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States.

Of the 650 arrested nationwide July 23 to 26, 73 were members of family units and 120 entered the country illegally as UACs. An additional 457 others encountered during this operation were also arrested.

Douglas Alexander Herrera-Hernandez, aka “Terror,” a 20-year-old El Salvadoran national illegally present in the United States, was one the 10 Most Wanted Fugitives in Texas. He is wanted in connection with two murders in the Houston area.

German Reyes-Benitez, 22, is wanted for attempted aggravated homicide, in El Salvador. On Nov. 29, 2016, Reyes Benitez was ordered removed from the United States by a federal immigration judge.

Of those arrested during the enforcement action which ended Saturday, 82 had criminal histories, including prior convictions for sex crimes, drug offenses, and fraud. 15 have pending criminal charges including assault, larceny and sexual exploitation of a minor. 37 individuals have final orders of removal. Nine of those arrested were released from local custody on an active detainer.

During the July 10-19 operation, ERO officers made arrests in the following Central and South Texas cities:  Austin (13), Waco (3), Harlingen (44), Laredo (27) and San Antonio (36).  Of those arrested, 115 were men; eight were women.

ERO’s 400th foreign fugitive arrest of the year was Rafael Alberto-Burgos, a 43-year-old national of the Dominican Republic and citizen of Spain, wanted by Spanish authorities for homicide. Alberto-Burgos is suspected to have participated in the 1997 murder of his ex-girlfriend, whose remains were found on a Barcelona highway. 

Guatemalan authorities recently provided the ICE attaché office in Guatemala with a warrant charging Fredy Mariony Alvarado-Calderon, a previously removed alien with multiple felony convictions in the United States, with killing or attempting to kill an individual by shooting him with a firearm on Oct. 13, 2016, in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. ICE authorities in Guatemala also obtained information related to Alvarado-Calderon’s whereabouts and his known aliases.

Eduardo Cervantes-Ruiz, 35, is accused of a 2008 homicide that occurred in State of Queretaro, Mexico. Cervantes-Ruiz was escorted by ICE officers to the U.S.-Mexico border at Laredo, Texas, and transferred to Mexican authorities July 17.

Jose Manuel Sustaita-Velez, aka El Pelon, 33, was escorted to the Juarez Lincoln Port in Laredo, Texas, and turned over to Mexico’s Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) July 17.

Jamal Redmond Wallace, 33, a citizen of The Bahamas, was arrested in Tampa by U.S. Border Patrol on March 29, 2017, the day an arrest warrant was issued by Bahamian authorities

A Guatemalan man illegally present in the United States who has been deported from the country three times, and subsequently re-entered the country illegally, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison on a felony charge of illegal re-entry of a removed alien.