News Releases and Statements

Sung Hoon Ha, 30, formerly of Tacoma, pleaded guilty in December 2013 to encouraging and inducing an alien to unlawfully enter the United States, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations. Ha was sentenced to 137 days' time served and two years' supervised release. He was turned over to ERO, placed into removal proceedings and held at the Northwest Detention Center until his deportation.

Merlin Marilu Umanzor-Melendez, 27, departed San Antonio Tuesday onboard an ICE Air Operations Unit charter flight. Upon arrival in El Salvador, ERO officers turned her over to officials from the El Salvadoran Civilian National Police (PNC).

These deportations were conducted by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Chicago. Armando Ramirez-Vazquez, 32, and Jesus Gloria-Arreaga, 47, were removed to Mexico May 2 via government charter flight from Chicago and turned over to the custody of the Mexican Attorney General's Office. Ramirez-Vazquez is wanted in Mexico for homicide and robbery based on a warrant issued in the Mexican state of Michoacán in 2000.

Jose Francisco Bonite-Sibri, aka Jose Sibri aka Alex Sibri aka Carlos Padilla, 46, of Philadelphia, was charged May 1 with illegal reentry after deportation. If convicted, Bonite-Sibri faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

Juan Adalberto Serpa-Flores, 36, was previously removed from the United States in 2009. In May 2010 the National Civil Police of El Salvador obtained an arrest warrant charging Serpa with aggravated homicide.

George Tsarik, 30, a citizen of Belarus who was residing in West Palm Beach, Fla., and convicted in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for conspiracy to illegally export defense articles, was removed.

Hermes Franca De Barros, aka Hermes Franca Barros, 39, formerly of Clackamas County, Ore., was removed by commercial airliner from the U.S. under ERO officer escort.

Marcelo Alves-Ferreira, 39, is charged with homicide in a warrant issued in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The warrant alleges Alves was responsible for the May 22, 2005, murder of Jhonatan Alves Braganca in Sao Jose de Safira.

Aliaksandr Stashynski, 30, who served a 9-month federal prison sentence, was removed from the United States and turned over to Belarusian authorities at the Minsk International Airport.

Zahid Yousaf, 45, pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization in federal court in September 2011.

Javier Diaz-Diaz, 41, aka Enrique Anaya-Velasquez, was transferred to the custody of representatives from the Mexican Attorney General's Office. In a warrant issued by authorities in the state of Jalisco in 2009, Diaz-Diaz is accused of raping two women in separate incidents.

Peter Smith Santos Aguilar-De Leon, 29, a native and citizen of Mexico, unlawfully residing in the United States, was charged in a one-count indictment April 16 by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg.

Of the individuals taken into custody, all were criminal aliens whose convictions include: driving while intoxicated (DWI) and felony DWI (three or more convictions), assault with bodily injury, burglary, theft, injury to a child, failure to identify, and others.

Of the individuals taken into custody, 15 were criminal aliens whose convictions include: sexual misconduct, felonious restraint, violating a protection order, felony driving under the influence causing bodily harm, battery, resisting arrest, criminal damage to property and illegal re-entry after deportation.

Mario Ernesto Huezo-Vasquez, 32, departed the United States Tuesday onboard an ICE Air Operations Unit charter flight. Upon arrival in El Salvador, ERO officers turned him over to officials from the Salvadoran Civilian National Police (PNC).

Reynoso Matos, aka Julio Eliezer Minyettis, a native and citizen of the Dominican Republic, was charged April 8. He has a prior aggravated-felony conviction for trafficking of controlled substances.

Of the individuals taken into custody, 30 were criminal aliens whose convictions include: sex offenses, rape, larceny, drug possession, domestic violence, aggravated assault, and driving under the influence.

Robert Alexis Saldarriaga-Yepes, 20, a citizen of Colombia who was residing in New Market, Md., was arrested Dec. 6, 2012, by Frederick County Sheriff deputies on child exploitation related charges. The victim was a 9-year-old girl.

The three-day operation, which concluded Thursday, was conducted by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) as part of the agency's commitment to prioritize the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration violators.

Cristian Alexander Castillo-Rodriguez, 36, was convicted in January 2014 for domestic violence in Franklin County, Ohio.

The investigations were conducted by ICE ERO's Criminal Alien Program in Philadelphia and are being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian G. McDonnell with the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Baltazar Torres-Castorena, a Mexican man wanted in his native country for rape, was deported Thursday by officers with ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

Nazmul Maksud Murad, 43, is accused of participating in a 1989 grenade attack at the home of Sheikh Hasina, who was the head of a rival political party at that time. Hasina is currently the prime minister of Bangladesh.

The three-day operation, which concluded Sunday, was conducted by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) as part of the agency's commitment to prioritize the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration violators.

A total of 48 individuals, including 42 convicted criminal aliens, were taken into custody during a weeklong enforcement operation carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in San Diego this week.