News Releases and Statements

The items ranged from clothing and sneakers to electronics produced without authorization from U.S. trademark holders, as well as those that did not adhere to U.S. consumer safety standards.

ERO Boston arrested an unlawfully present female foreign fugitive who is wanted by law enforcement authorities after being convicted of assaulting and threatening a minor child in Brazil. Officers in Worcester, Massachusetts, apprehended the 35-year-old citizen of Brazil Nov. 30.

Since May 12, nearly 13,000 Venezuelan nationals have been removed or returned and, because the United States recently resumed direct repatriation flights to Venezuela, this number will continue to grow in the coming months.

Jesus Vega Perez, 22, of Casa Grande, was convicted by a federal jury on Jan. 19 of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and importation of methamphetamine.

The annual multijurisdictional operation, which concluded on Nov. 30, works to combat human trafficking through targeted enforcement using undercover officers to arrest potential traffickers and offering support to survivors. As a result of the multiday operation, 12 people were offered support services and two arrests were made.

Since March 2019, a criminal court in the city of Resplendor, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, has been seeking custody of the Brazilian national to serve an eight-year prison sentence on a felony charge of aggravated rape in Brazil that he was convicted of by that court.

Branden Lee Narvaiz, a 35-year-old resident of Freer, was sentenced Dec. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to five years in prison immediately followed by four years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.

The French national entered the United States in July 2014 as a visa waiver visitor authorized to stay until October 2014. However, he failed to depart the United States, violating the terms of admission for the visa waiver program.

ICE ERO Philadelphia removed Felipe Javier Rivero Blanco, a citizen of Venezuela with a final order of removal, to Venezuela on Dec. 1.

Russia-affiliated individuals Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, Dmitry Budnik, Valerii LNU (last name unknown), and Nazar LNU were each charged with unlawfully detaining a U.S. national in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The 40-year-old citizen of Romania has an extensive criminal history in the United States and in multiple European nations.

Consistent with ICE protocols, the appropriate components were notified about the death, including DHS, the Office of Inspector General, and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility. 

Wilmer Rivera-Hernandez, a 33-year-old unlawfully present Honduran national, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 50 years in prison following his conviction on Aug. 24 for interstate travel with intent to engage in a sex act with a minor.

U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith announced Dec. 6 that District Court Chief Judge Robert A. Molloy sentenced Somalie Bruce, 37, to 120 months of incarceration for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to traffic firearms.  

ERO New York City’s Long Island suboffice arrested the 29-year-old unlawfully present noncitizen without incident in Garden City and transported him to the Central Islip suboffice for processing.

The 35-year-old Guatemalan had previously been voluntarily returned to Guatemala after having unlawfully entered the United States in 2007.

William Dexter Lucas, 61, was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

Jesus Gaytan III, 23, and a minor were passengers in the vehicle. Upon questioning, both disclosed they were in a sexual relationship.

Omar Diego Lyra, a 34-year-old Corpus Christi resident, was sentenced Nov. 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 19 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography following an investigation by HSI Houston’s Corpus Christi office and the Victoria and Corpus Christi Police Departments.

Engilbert Ulan, 42, a Philippine national residing in Los Angeles, was convicted of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for March 6, 2024.

The multi-jurisdictional operation targeted air, land and sea smuggling and trafficking corridors throughout the Carolinas that was initiated to disrupt the flow of deadly narcotics, illicit proceeds of crime and violent criminal organizations operating throughout the region.

Cesar Antiono Rafael Lopez, 22, was flown to Guatemala and turned over to local authorities.

During each of the past two weeks, we have conducted over thirty repatriation flights transporting thousands of individuals back to their country of origin and have repatriated over five thousand individuals directly to Mexico.

An HSI Space Coast investigation led to the removal of Pedro Paulo Barrientos Nunez, a denaturalized U.S. citizen, to his home country of Chile on Nov. 30, 2023, by ICE's ERO Miami.

Orlando Andres Garcia, 24, of Mission, pleaded guilty to human smuggling resulting in death and conspiracy to harbor noncitizens within the United States on Feb. 3, and Nov. 29, 2022, respectively.