News Releases and Statements

Joaquin Villalobos Navarro, 54, was turned over to Mexican authorities at the border in Brownsville, Texas, Feb. 28.

An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released, allowing ERO to assume custody for possible removal to the subject’s home country in accordance with federal law.

Thomas Evans, the firearms, defensive tactics and taser instructor for ERO Miami’s Tampa field office, took the top spot in the Pistol Caliber Carbine, C-class during the 2024 U.S. Practical Shooting Association’s Florida State Championships, outshooting 20 other shooters in his class.

Leonard Mnela, a citizen of Albania with a final order of removal, is a foreign fugitive wanted by law enforcement authorities in Italy for criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, attempted extortion, firearms violation, drug trafficking, drug importing and drug selling.

ICE ERO Baltimore arrested eight noncitizens with sex offense convictions during a nationwide law enforcement effort that netted 275 noncitizen sex offenders. The nationwide operation ran from Feb. 5 to Feb. 16.

This engagement marks the second meeting between the two organizations since the beginning of the calendar year.

Juan Carlos Perlaza Caicedo aka Olindo Perlaza Caicedo aka Gafas, 45, of Colombia pleaded guilty to producing and transporting several tons of cocaine from Colombia to Central America beginning in at least 2002.

ERO New York City Fugitive Operations officers apprehended 32 unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of sex offenses during a nationwide law enforcement effort from Feb. 5 to Feb. 16.

If convicted, Reginald Dugger, 42, of Orlando, faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for the drug offense and up to 15 years in federal prison for the firearm offense.

A superseding indictment was partially unsealed in the Southern District of California March 5 charging alleged drug trafficker Benjamin Madrigal-Birrueta, 22, with murdering two people to prevent them from testifying in drug trafficking cases in federal court in San Diego.

ERO Boston arrested an unlawfully present, 30-year-old convicted sex offender Feb. 12 in Barnstable.

ERO Boston arrested an unlawfully present 61-year-old registered sex offender and citizen of Jamaica convicted locally of sexual assault of a minor child.

On Feb. 29, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico indicted Kiara Ramos Melendez, 29, with one count of coercion and enticement of a minor and one count of receipt of child exploitation material.

ERO Boston removed 52-year-old Antonio Dos Santos from the United States to Brazil Feb. 23 after arresting him on federal immigration violations near his residence in Plymouth on Oct. 18, 2023.

Allan Alberto Moreno Trevino, 41, of Mexico, pleaded guilty before a federal judge March 5.

ERO Washington, D.C. arrested an unlawfully present Guatemalan noncitizen convicted Feb. 9 for aggravated sexual battery of a Virginia minor.

Michael Hart, 58, of San Diego, was arrested March 4 and charged with smuggling potent greenhouse gases into the United States from Mexico and selling them for profit, violating regulations intended to curb the use of greenhouse gases and slow climate change.

Deportation officers from ERO Boston removed 31-year-old Raul Thalison De Oliveira-Silva from the United States to Brazil Feb. 23.

ERO San Francisco arrested an individual Feb. 22 who had an outstanding warrant issued by the District Court in Zacatecas, Mexico, for the rape of a child.

By using an intelligence-driven enforcement model, ERO Washington, D.C. makes efficient use of limited resources to promote public safety in communities across throughout Washington, D.C. and Virginia.

Noel Chimezuru Agoha, 40, of Baltimore, received the sentence Feb. 28 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The judge also ordered Agoha to pay $1 million in restitution.

ICE ERO and the Martin County Florida Sheriff’s Office arrested Juan Jose-Sebastian, 26, a citizen and national of Guatemala March 2, after determining he was wanted in Washington County, Oregon, on rape and sexual abuse charges.

Deportation officers with ERO Phoenix removed Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate, 49, a Mexican national who was removed on six previous occasions, via commercial air to Mexico March 1.

As one of its private detention contractors, it is imperative for the agency to engage with valued partners to ensure continued understanding of our changing mission space and the shared responsibility of appropriate care for those in custody.

According to court documents, from December 2022 through Jan. 25, 2023, Marrero Casanova used a cellphone and instant messaging services to persuade, induce, entice and coerce two 15-year-old boys to engage in sexual activity so he could produce a visual depiction of it.