News Releases and Statements

A citizen of Lebanon, who fled to the United States to avoid prosecution in Germany for murder, was turned over to German authorities Thursday following an investigation by U.S. ICE. Taleb Hussein Zaaiter, 44, used a butcher knife to stab his German wife 30 times in 1992 while they lived in Katernberg-Essen, Germany.

Four special agents from ICE's HSI were recognized on Thursday for their recent investigations by U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II, District of Maine. The agents were recognized in ceremonies in Bangor and Portland as part of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, April 10-16.

Successful law enforcement officers run on instinct and quick thinking. These traits served Robert Barnes, an immigration enforcement agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), well the evening of March 24. Little did he know that his visit to a San Diego 7-Eleven would result in him taking down a knife-wielding thief.

A local man was found guilty on Wednesday for being a felon illegally possessing ammunition and attempting to export it into Mexico without a license, announced U.S. Attorney Jose Angel Moreno of the Southern District of Texas.

In 2008, within 24 hours, five teenagers were apprehended at the San Ysidro Port in San Diego, Calif., and the Calexico Port in Imperial Valley, Calif. Each of them had narcotics strapped to their torsos and legs. Drug smuggling organizations had enlisted the teens' assistance in smuggling narcotics into the United States.

George Andrew Burkey, 34, who pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography via a peer-to-peer software sharing website, was sentenced in federal court to 85 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A federal indictment, unsealed today in federal court, charged Oscar Lazo, 51, a citizen of Peru; Eva Ramos, 35, a citizen of the United States; Mauricio Cruz, a citizen of Mexico; Manuel Cruz, a citizen of Mexico; and an unnamed defendant with conspiring to sell the stolen identities of U.S. citizens.

A former agent for the Mexican judicial police, who is wanted in his native country on drug trafficking charges, was turned over to Mexican law enforcement officials at the border crossing here Wednesday morning following his capture in the Bay Area by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

William L. Ferguson, 38, of Burkburnett, Texas, pleaded guilty in November 2010 to one count of possessing child pornography. Judge O'Connor also ordered that Ferguson, who was taken into custody following the sentencing hearing, register as a sex offender and serve a lifetime of supervised release.

4 additional South Carolina counties to benefit from ICE program to enhance identification and removal of aliens convicted of a crime

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today began using the Secure Communities program in Crawford, Miami, Shelby and Wayne counties to help federal immigration officials identify criminal aliens in state prisons and local jails by running their fingerprints against federal immigration databases when they are booked into the system.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today began using the Secure Communities program in seven Michigan counties including Allegan, Barry, Calhoun, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Muskegon and Ottawa to help federal immigration officials identify criminal aliens.

Today, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using the Secure Communities program in Alleghany, Garrett and Washington counties to help federal immigration officials identify criminal aliens in state prisons and local jails by running their fingerprints against federal immigration databases when they are booked into the system.

Herbert Poche, 60, of Jefferson, La., was sentenced in federal court today to 97 months in prison for receiving child pornography, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

With the expansion of Secure Communities to Carroll, Douglas and Paulding counties, ICE is using this capability in 27 Ga. jurisdictions. Across the country, ICE is using this capability in 1,188 jurisdictions in 41 states.

A former local police officer was sentenced Monday to almost 25 years in federal prison without parole for drug trafficking and using a firearm in relation to the drug trafficking offense, announced U.S. Attorney Jose Angel Moreno of the Southern District of Texas.

Donald J. Jones, III, 46, of Pemberton, N.J., was taken into custody after traveling from his home in New Jersey to Rhode Island in an alleged scheme to engage in sexual activity with a minor in a case investigated jointly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, working jointly with Martin County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), arrested Jeannie Biggs, 61, of Port St. Lucie on April 6 for possession of child pornography.

Edward Teichrow, 63, of Bakersfield, Calif., pleaded guilty to possessing images of child pornography. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.

A lawyer practicing in Laredo, Texas, pleaded guilty on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez to a one-count Information charging interstate travel in aid of racketeering, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

An airline baggage handler was sentenced Thursday to 60 months in prison for his role in attempting to import drugs aboard a U.S. Airways flight from Jamaica.

Seven men have been sentenced in Charlotte for drug trafficking-related offenses, following an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, with the assistance of the Union County Sheriff's Office.

Robert Emmet Horn, 45, was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison on April 8 by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone, after he pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on Nov. 22. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Oct. 29, 2010 charging Horn with child pornography violations.

Earlier this year, U.S. ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata was tragically shot and killed in the line of duty while driving between Monterrey and Mexico City, Mexico. Jaime Zapata's hometown of Brownsville, Texas, held a special ceremony to rename a street close to Zapata's parents' home, Jaime J. Zapata Avenue.

ICE serves on the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), one of the world's largest international child protection taskforces.