News Releases and Statements

A Brazilian national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) passed away Aug. 24 at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) in Albuquerque. An autopsy is pending to determine the official cause of death.

The Durga Stele was returned during a repatriation ceremony Aug 24 attended by Nepal’s Acting Consul General, Bishnu Gautam, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Mike Alfonso.

Alessandra Olivares, 28, from San Antonio, was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. Olivares pleaded guilty Aug.18, 2021.

The 10 individuals indicted included Franklin Trejo-Chavarria, 25; Julio Vigil-Lopez, 25; Walter Antonio Chicas-Garcia, 25; Luis Ernesto Carbajal-Peraza, 30; Carlos Alexi Garcia-Gongora, 24; Wilson Jose Ventura-Mejia, 26; Angel Miguel Aguilar-Ochoa, 37; Marlon Miranda-Moran, 23; Wilman Rivas-Guido, 26; and Carlos Elias Henriquez-Torres, 22. All ten defendants are citizens of El Salvador.

A former schoolteacher with the Southside Independent School District was sentenced Aug. 23 to 20 years in prison on child pornography charges following an investigation conducted by HSI. Mark Anthony Rodriguez, 56, was sentenced to 240 months in prison and ordered to pay $70,000 in restitution to 14 separate victims.

The individuals arrested pursuant to state arrest warrants for engaging in organized criminal activity include Timothy Ngo, 51, Henry Pham, 55, Quoc Bao Le, 39, Tran Le, 45, and Tram Le, 47.

On Aug. 16, ERO and the Webb County District Attorney’s Office (WCDAO), as part of a joint operation, apprehended Miguel Angel Ponce-Mejia, 43, a Mexican national who has been previously removed five times to Mexico. In December 2007, Ponce-Mejia was convicted of indecency with a child; he came to ERO’s attention via local law enforcement agencies after a local encounter.

The noncitizens consisted of 12 citizens from Mexico, eight from Ecuador, seven from Guatemala, and one each from Honduras and El Salvador. Among the 29, there were 24 men and five women, ranging in age from 18 to 42. All were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol for processing.

Facility status and interventions for COVID-19 management are based on determinations by, and in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidance on Prevention and Management of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Correctional and Detention Facilities.

According to court documents, Matthew Jacob Metzler, 32, traveled to Arizona to pick up a minor and then took the child to Pecos, where he engaged in sexual acts with the child. A search warrant was executed on Metzler’s cellular phone where child pornography photos along with a sexually explicit video Metzler made with the minor were found.

Over the last three months, HSI has seen a substantial increase in the number of weapons, along with a serious increase on the caliber and type of firearms, being illegally trafficked. Some of those weapons include .50 caliber sniper rifles, 308 rifles, and a belt fed machine gun.

ICE is proposing creating a framework under which the Secretary of Homeland Security could authorize alternative options for document examination procedures associated with the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The notice of proposed rulemaking is seeking input from the public regarding making permanent some of the current COVID-19 pandemic-related flexibilities to examine employees’ identity and employment authorization documents for the Form I-9.

Eric Mendiola, a 37-year-old resident of San Benito, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to five years in federal prison for illegally transporting undocumented migrants within the United States.

Walter Haskin, 27, of Cottonwood Falls, was indicted on one count of attempted distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

On Aug. 10, AZDPS detectives arrested Braulio De Diego, 30, of Mesa, and seized 35.7 pounds of fentanyl pills near State Route 101 and Chandler Boulevard, in Chandler, following a drug trafficking investigation.

Axel Elias Ramirez, 19, a U.S. citizen, and Jorge Soto-Ochoa, 34, a Mexican national, were charged with conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for profit, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, or both.

HSI Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar received the Outstanding Federal Law Enforcement Employee Award and was recognized as an exemplary role model, not only for women in law enforcement, but for all federal employees. Salazar is credited for working tirelessly to serve the agency and further the mission of HSI, identifying areas for improvement and leading the way to address those challenges.

Denis Matute pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence on Nov. 2, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Jessica Medrano, 41, was indicted with one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of access device fraud, and 12 counts of wire fraud. Medrano pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Distinguished attendees at this month’s meeting included Ambassador Michèle Taylor, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council, and Desirée Cormier Smith, U.S. Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice.

Danielle Ice, 34, of Columbia, is the last of seven defendants indicted in this case to plead guilty. Ice’s husband and co-defendant Leslie Ice, 37, as well as co-defendants Cody Ryder, 31, Enx Khoshaba, 29, and Eric Kaltenbach, 37, all of Springfield, and Evan Marshall, 24, and Camren Joseph Davis, 25, of Rogersville, have also pleaded guilty.

As detailed in pleadings filed prior to the hearing, during the afternoon and evening of May 1, 2021, smugglers in Puerto Neuvo, Baja California, Mexico, shuttled undocumented migrants from the beach to a location approximately two hours offshore near the Coronado Islands where Hurtado and his 40-foot boat – named the “Salty Lady” – were waiting. Those individuals – including three unaccompanied minors – had agreed to pay between $15,000 and $18,000 to be smuggled into the United States illegally.

“I am extremely honored to be selected to return to HSI Detroit and to have the opportunity to serve on their exceptionally strong team of local, state and federal law enforcement partners in the Detroit area of operations,” said Salazar.

Jorge Alberto Quintanilla Marquez, 42, was arrested outside his residence in West Springfield, Virginia, July 22. The arrest was the result of many months of work by ICE ERO with the assistance of the FBI.

Cristian Dolores Munoz-De La Rosa, 24, plead guilty to transporting and possessing child pornography, Aug. 4.