News Releases and Statements

ICE ERO officers apprehended 28 unlawfully present noncitizens who have been convicted of drug trafficking or multiple drug possession-related offenses involving methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, or synthetic drugs during a nationwide law enforcement effort that ran from March 11 - 26, 2024.

Authorities in Lynn, Massachusetts, arrested the Guatemalan noncitizen in March 2022. The Lynn District Court in Lynn, Massachusetts arraigned him on assault and battery on a household member and strangulation/suffocation charges March 30, 2022.

Oscar Ramirez Jr, 38, from McAllen, was sentenced March 27 to 180 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard additional information including that Ramirez had approximately 2,070 files of child pornography, of which 64 were videos. Some videos were more than 20 minutes long.

Victor Manuel Jimenez Ruiz, 33-year-old citizen of Mexico, was escorted by ERO officers from St. Paul, Minnesota, to the Brownsville, Texas, port of entry where he was transferred to Mexican authorities.

ERO New York City Fugitive Operations officers apprehended 13 unlawfully present noncitizens with convictions for drug trafficking or multiple drug possession related offenses involving methamphetamines, fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, or synthetic drugs during a nationwide law enforcement from March 11 – 26.

Juan Carlos Munoz, 42, of Mission, pleaded guilty March 29 before U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa.

ICE's ERO New Orleans officers apprehended seven unlawfully present noncitizens with narcotics convictions during a nationwide law enforcement effort March 11- 22.

ICE's ERO Seattle arrested 13 unlawfully present noncitizens who have been convicted of drug trafficking or multiple drug possession related offenses involving illicit narcotics during a nationwide law enforcement effort that ran from March 11 - 26.

HSI San Juan special agents executed four arrest warrants in the Llorens Torres public housing in San Juan after a U.S. District Judge for the District Court of Puerto Rico District signed a criminal complaint charging Luis Nomar Isaac Sanchez, Joshua Enrique Bula Cartagena, Kevin Manuel Bonilla Ramirez and Eli Yaniel Couvertier Pollock with illegal possession of a machine gun and aiding and abetting. During the operation, HSI arrested Couvertier Pollock, who is now in custody.

Among all 25 ICE ERO offices across the country, the ERO Houston Field Office apprehended the highest percentage of targets during the operation successfully arresting 11 of the 15 targets that were identified in the Houston-area for potential enforcement action.

Efforts to engage between non-governmental organizations and the federal government serves to increase transparency, understanding, and cooperation across shared interests.

On March 20, 2024, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Robert Davis, a 67-year-old naturalized citizen of the United States, born in Malaysia, with naturalization fraud.

ERO Philadelphia removed Ulisses De Oliveira Silva, a citizen of Brazil, with a final order of removal, to his home country.

ICE ERO officers apprehended 216 unlawfully present noncitizens who have been convicted of drug trafficking or multiple drug possession related offenses involving methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, or synthetic drugs, during a nation-wide law enforcement effort that ran from March 11 - 26, 2024.

Communities around the country benefit when law enforcement agencies cooperate across all jurisdictions whether federal, state, or local.

Jose De Jesus Pena Dieguez, 67, from Guadalajara, Mexico, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Chief Judge Randy Crane, who accepted his plea.

Partnerships with foundations like Operation Light Shine will allow law enforcement agencies to better serve Northeast Florida communities and the many victims of human trafficking.

Deportation officers from ERO Boston removed Yael Gonzales-Mejia from the United States to Italy March 6.

On March 1, in Mobile, Alabama, ERO New Orleans arrested a Honduran foreign fugitive wanted for murder in his home country.

On March 20, ERO New York City arrested an unlawfully present citizen of Colombia and suspected member of a transnational organized criminal enterprise known as a South American Theft Group.

ERO Chicago arrested Adelvis Rodriguez-Carmona, an unlawfully present citizen of Venezuela and member of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization.

ERO Philadelphia removed Angel Anibal Alvarado Benitez, a citizen of El Salvador with a final order of removal, on March 22. Alvarado Benitez, 75, is wanted by law enforcement authorities in El Salvador for murder and other crimes.

Gerardo Rafael Perez Jr. aka “Jerry,” 23, Luis Matias Leal aka “Wicho” aka “Poncho” aka “El Tio,” 30, Antonio Osiel Casarez, 26, Francisco Alejandro Benavides aka “Frankie,” 23, and Mark Anthony Trevino Jr., 24, all were charged in an indictment for one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to straw purchase firearms with a maximum penalty of 25 years of imprisonment.

ERO Baltimore arrested an unlawfully present 30-year-old Nigerian national convicted in 2013 of armed robbery in Maryland.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a component agency of the Department of Homeland Security, working in close coordination across the Department including with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), continued to facilitate removal flights of single adults, family units, March 18 – March 22.