News Releases and Statements

Amos Prince Okey Ezemma, 50, of Lagos, Nigeria, faces federal charges in Miami. His co-defendants, Ezennia Peter Neboh; Kennedy Ikponmwosa; Iheanyichukwu Jonathan Abraham; 44; Emmanuel Samuel, 39; and Jerry Chucks Ozor, 43; all of London, were all arrested in April 2022 by authorities in Madrid and London. Ezemma remained a fugitive until his surrender and arrest.

On Dec. 27, deportation officers from the ERO Washington, D.C. field office took custody of Jose Leonardo Marquez-Marquez, a 23-year-old Venezuelan national who was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police on Dec. 26.

Ericka Aldana, 40, of Chula Vista, confirmed that she recruited at least five drivers, procured vehicles for their use, obtained passports for them, and coached them on how to dress and answer questions from CBP officers.

ICE working in coordination with DHS and CBP, facilitated removal flights, including single adults and family units to Central America, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela from December 26 - 29.

ICE simultaneously launched its first ever online statistical dashboard for increased transparency into the agency’s operations.

ERO Baltimore apprehended a 49-year-old undocumented noncitizen who has been convicted of prostitution charges.

Dementrous Von Smith, 36, of Waldorf, Maryland, received a sentence of 53 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, Dec. 15, for a wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in relation to the submission of fraudulent CARES Act unemployment insurance claims in Maryland, California, and Arizona totaling at least $1.5 million.

The Iranian national is also a permanent resident of Canada and a national security priority who is wanted by Canadian authorities on assault charges.

Deportation officers from the ERO Washington, D.C. field office removed Rojer Mauricio Sarmiento-Gutierres, 45, of Honduras from the United States Dec. 27.

ICE, working in coordination with DHS and CBP, facilitated removal flights, including single adults and family units to Central America and Venezuela from December 26 - 27

Marius Caldararu, 25, was removed to Romania on Dec. 12 and turned over to proper authorities to face related charges.

ICE, working in coordination with DHS and CBP, facilitated removal flights, including single adults and family units to Central America, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Peru, Uzbekistan and Venezuela from December 18 - 22.

HSI San Juan, along with the Puerto Rico Police Bureau and the U.S. Marshals Service, arrested Shaquille Emmanuel Rivera–De Jesus, one of the fugitives of HSI’s Operation Youngblood executed on Sept. 22, 2023.

U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement named Jennifer Fenton as the Associate Director of ICE OPR, and Angie M. Salazar as the Deputy Associate Director Dec. 19.

CoreCivic and the GEO Group, Inc. each met with agency leadership as part of ongoing conversations between the government and the private sector.

To aid in the consistent implementation of this important national initiative, OPLA has developed a general framework to handle cases in immigration proceedings on the juvenile dockets.

The noncitizen entered the United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location without inspection, parole or admission by an immigration official.

According to court documents, from June 2022 to July 2022, Resto Colón used his computer and cellular phone to receive one or more images of child exploitation materials via the internet depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

ICE's ERO Los Angeles announced today the arrest of 26 unlawfully present foreign nationals during a local enforcement operation that began on Dec. 18, and concluded on Dec. 20.

Daily removals and enforcement returns are nearly double what they were compared to the pre-pandemic average (2014-2019).

Tong Sun, 45, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis, who accepted his plea for possessing child sexual abuse material via his cell phone.

According to court documents, Guadalupe Quezada, 35, of Mesa, Arizona, along with co-defendants Veronica Quezada, 39, also of Mesa, and Elizabeth Miranda Lozano, 39, of Dallas, actively participated in an ongoing conspiracy to bring in, transport and harbor undocumented immigrants into the United States from Mexico from on or about November 2019 through on or about August 2021.

Kahlil Felder, 39, of Southeast Washington D.C., was arraigned on a four-count indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl, and using, carrying and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, among other charges. Felder was ordered detained pending trial.

The El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) was one of two El Paso businesses that joined Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) IMAGE, or Mutual Agreement between Government Employers program, Dec. 19.

ICE's ERO El Paso deportation officers removed an unlawfully present El Salvadoran national Dec. 15 wanted in his home country for aggravated extortion.