News Releases and Statements

Fiordaliza Gomez Heredia, 40, was turned over to Spanish law enforcement upon her arrival at Madrid-Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain. According to Spanish police authorities, a drug trafficking investigation that began in 2006 led to the execution of a search warrant May 5, 2007, at Heredia’s home.

The sentencing hearing for Leonel Hernandez-Lopez, 36, of Bradenton, aka Jose Luis Carbajal, is scheduled for June 18. Hernandez-Lopez was indicted Sept. 5, 2013.

Enmanuel Tejada Santos, of El Salvador, was allegedly involved in the June 15, 2000, murder of two individuals. According to El Salvadoran authorities, Santos and a group of men allegedly assaulted a vehicle transporting goods that had arrived from the United States.

In a published decision March 11, the BIA dismissed the appeal of Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova, 77, the former director of the National Guard (1979-1983) and Minister of Defense (1983-1989) of El Salvador.

Estacio Da Ponte Talaia was administratively arrested in Detroit Feb. 25. ERO officers working in concert with liaisons in Interpol discovered that Talaia was wanted in Portugal.

Clive L. Small, 80, was convicted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in August 2005 of conspiracy to possess machine guns and firearm silencers, and possession of machine guns and firearm silencers.

Raul Vivas-Ceja was deported from the United States on Oct. 8, 2010. He illegally re-entered the country and was again deported Sept. 28, 2012, after serving a 12-month sentence for a felony related to fleeing and eluding conviction in Dane County, Wisconsin.

Caylon Botelho Carreiro was arrested in Malden, Massachusetts, Jan. 15, following a joint ERO and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operation dubbed "Nowhere to Run." ERO officers and HSI special agents worked closely with the HSI Brasilia Attaché Office and Interpol to track down Carreiro who illegally entered the United States.

According to an Interpol warrant, Barbarito De Leon-Compean, 50, is wanted by Mexican officials for homicide. De Leon-Compean was convicted Oct. 16, 1995, in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, for conspiracy to traffic illegal drugs. De Leon-Compean, who entered the United States illegally at an unknown place and at an unknown time, was ordered removed by an immigration judge Aug. 26, 1997.

Raymond Douglas Charles Macleod, 72, was repatriated under escort by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers on a commercial flight that departed from Los Angeles International Airport. Macleod is facing trial in Canada for the 1974 rape of a 5-year-old girl with cerebral palsy.

One of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) priorities is arresting child predators and bringing them to a court of law where they face justice, or in some cases, sending them back to their home countries.

But first, convicted child sexual predators, some of whom are in the country illegally, must be located. The Fugitive Operations Support Center (FOSC) and Fugitive Operations Teams (FOT) of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) tracks and targets criminal aliens convicted of sexual crimes against children.

Pablo Antonio Moreno-Fernandez, 49, arrived in Madrid, Spain, March 19 under ICE escort and was turned over to Spanish authorities.

Marco Vidal-Castillo, 39, was escorted to the Juarez Lincoln Port in Laredo, Texas, and turned over to Mexico's Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) March 27.

Hector Coria-Gonzalez, 46, was taken into custody at his Davis residence early Friday morning by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers. He is being held without bond at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center while his case undergoes review by the immigration court.

ICE's Director, Sarah R. Saldaña, testified March 19 before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform at a hearing titled, “A Review of the Department of Homeland Security’s Policies and Procedures for the Apprehension, Detention, and Release of Non-Citizens Unlawfully Present in the United States – Part II.

Clemente Chavez-Cruz, 68, and Manuel Orpinela-Servin, 47, were handed over to Mexican law enforcement officials at El Paso’s Stanton Street Bridge Port of Entry.

"Like Secretary Johnson, I am determined to do what we can to improve and reform our immigration system within the confines of existing law," said ICE Director Sarah R. Saldaña. "Today’s announcement is an example of this, and I believe it will enhance public safety and public confidence in our enforcement and administration of the immigration laws."

In August 2014, Petr Vana, 38, was convicted federally of bank fraud in Chicago. On Dec. 5 2014, the District Court in Uherske Hradiste issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of breaking and entering, theft, larceny and violation of domestic freedom. On Dec. 29 2014, ICE issued a final order of removal against Vana as an aggravated felon.

Ramiro Varela-Garcia, 38, a Mexican national who was living in Cambridge, Wisconsin, was sentenced March 16 by U.S. District Judge William Conley to 42 months in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported, which is a felony. Varela-Garcia pleaded guilty to this charge Dec. 19, 2014.

The operation, dubbed “Cross Check,” began Sunday, March 1, and ended Thursday, March 5. Hundreds of ERO officers participated in the operation that focused on the arrests of public safety threats. Those arrested are from 94 countries and have a wide array of criminal convictions.

Alain Painchaud, 46, of Sasseville, Québec, was repatriated to Canada via ground transportation from Chicago and turned over to the custody of Canadian authorities at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

Pedro Dubon-Interiano was arrested Nov. 13, 2014, after the U.S. Marshals Service alerted ERO Newark that he was being sought by Interpol on extortion charges.

ICE officers transferred Angel Daniel Vasquez-Aleman to the custody of Mexican law enforcement authorities at the border crossing in Hidalgo, Texas, Feb. 26.

Nineteen companies face state penalties of $2,500 each, for soliciting intrastate moves without the required New Jersey license.

Tsutomu Shirosaki, 67, was convicted in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in February 1998 of assault with intent to murder, attempted destruction of buildings, attempted murder of internationally protected persons and violent attack on official premises of internationally protected persons.