News Releases and Statements

Lazaro Benito Rocha, 27, a resident of Odom, Texas, admitted Oct. 22 that he had responded to an ad on Craigslist advertising a “good time” with a teenage girl. He continued communicating with whom he thought was a 14-year-old female, which soon escalated into conversations of an explicit sexual nature via text messaging.

Keith Prescott Gace, a resident of Sante Fe, Texas, was sentenced Oct. 21 in the Southern District of Texas to 30, 20, 20 and 10 years for the production, distribution, receipt and possession convictions respectively.

Daniel Ellsworth Janssen pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography Oct. 22 in the Southern District of Texas.

ICE ERO officers encountered a residence in Laredo, Texas used to house illegal aliens, also known as stash houses, resulting in the apprehension of 32 undocumented aliens Thursday.

ICE can now expedite the removal of certain aliens thanks to a recent order issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Sept. 30, 2020.

The awareness campaign will educate the public on the consequences of counterfeit and other black-market vapor products and provide tools and resources to report illegal sales to law enforcement. The campaign will include social media, digital resources, and a toolkit to help inform adult consumers about the additional risks associated with suspect vapor products.

Donovan Pham Nguyen, 34, of Orange, pleaded guilty this afternoon to one count of impersonation of a federal officer.

The agency will continue to vet students who gained new employment through OPT for compliance with their nonimmigrant status. Any identified leads will be reviewed for potential future enforcement.

The center will be staffed with law enforcement officials from HSI and across DHS, as well as subject matter experts and support staff from 16 DHS components — all focused on the “4 Ps” of the center’s mission: prevention, protection, prosecution and partnerships.

The nationwide, weeklong immigration enforcement activity, which concluded Oct. 9, focused on targeting and arresting individuals in sanctuary cities.

This is a joint Government of Brazil-ICE investigation with significant support from the ICE Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP) program and Interpol Brasilia.

On Sept. 28, the Prince William County Police Department arrested Edras Onel Vasquez Perez, 25, an unlawfully present Honduran national, for assault on a family member. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an immigration detainer for Vazquez with the PWMRADC.

ICE officers assigned to field offices in Baltimore and Washington D.C. conducted the enforcement actions Oct. 3 through Oct. 9.

ICE’s enforcement operation, which took place Oct. 5 – 9, targeted aliens subject to removal who were arrested for crimes but were released by state or local law enforcement agencies, despite having active immigration detainers in place.

ICE officers assigned to field offices in Seattle, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. conducted the enforcement actions Oct. 3 through Oct. 9.

Arsen Khumaryan, 41, of Glendale, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt has scheduled a January 28 sentencing hearing, at which time Khumaryan will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Marcus Ryan Howell, a resident of Lake Jackson, Texas, was sentenced Oct. 13 in the Southern District of Texas to 151 months in federal prison for two counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

Jose Elias Jovel-Castro, 38, is a citizen of Honduras who has repeatedly violated the nation’s immigration laws. Jovel-Castro has a lengthy criminal history that includes convictions for driving under the influence, assault-domestic violence, and multiple federal convictions, dating back to 2007, related to false documents and illegal reentry.

According to records filed in the case, in December 2019 CBP inspected a package from China that was labeled “aluminum tubes.” The package, addressed to Brasfield, actually contained five firearm silencers, which are illegal to possess under federal law. In February 2020, agents executed a search warrant at Brasfield’s residence and seized numerous home manufactured firearms that did not contain serial numbers. These ‘ghost guns’ are illegal for Brasfield to possess. Further, Brasfield illegally possessed more than 300 pounds of ammunition. Agents also seized the gun manufacturing equipment known as a ‘ghost gunner.’ Ten illegal silencers were also seized.

Marion Wise, of Cave Springs, Arkansas, was sentenced to 300 months followed by five years of supervised release. Wise is the last member of 25 individuals sentenced for their roles in a heroin and methamphetamine trafficking ring that operated in Benton and Washington Counties in Arkansas, and in California, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arizona, and Mexico.

Arthur William Callender was convicted on April 1 of two felony counts of sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10.

A 43-year-old Mexican national was sentenced to federal prison Oct. 8, after he admitted to conspiring with others to import approximately 25 kilograms of 100% pure methamphetamine from Mexico.

On Oct. 8, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana sentenced Omar Jaime Flores, 42, from Monterrey, Mexico, to 36 months in prison. In imposing the sentence, the court noted he was a border crosser and now will be forever banned from the United States. Flores pleaded guilty to the charges Dec. 2, 2019. During the course of the investigation, ICE HSI learned that Flores is a not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings after serving his sentence.

Santos Teodoro AC-Salazar, 23, and Olga Choc Laj, 30, both of Aurora, Illinois, are charged with using force, threats of force and threatening abuse of the law and legal process in order to force the minor female to comply.

“HSI New York’s El Dorado Task Force is uniquely qualified to investigate complex, international money laundering and other serious financial crimes. Working with our law enforcement partners around the country and around the world, we will continue to safeguard our financial systems from international corruption that enriches the coffers of dictators and their cronies. This designation is a clear message – corruption stops at our border,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Tony H. Pham.