News Releases and Statements

ERO Newark arrested a Brazilian national on March 19 in Newark, New Jersey, who is wanted in Brazil to serve a 17-year, 4 month prison sentence for intentional murder and attempted murder.

Eric Tabaro Nshimiye, a/k/a Eric Tabaro Nshimiyimana, 52, of Uniontown, Ohio, has been charged in a criminal complaint with falsifying, concealing and covering up a material fact by trick, scheme or device, obstruction of justice, and perjury following an investigation by HSI New England special agents.

Jacob Andrew Mendoza, 37, from Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico was sentenced to 420 months in prison for importing and possessing methamphetamines.

U.S. District Judge Alia Moses imposed the following sentences on four defendants: Eva Maria Galeas, 43, was sentenced to 180 months in prison and Lisa Marie Ortega, 25, was sentenced to 156 months in prison. Both are from San Antonio, Texas; Sandra Galeas-Mejia, 48, from Mexico was sentenced to 84 months in prison; and Norma Galeas-Mejia, 52, from Honduras, was sentenced to 78 months. Judge Moses also ordered the forfeiture of $603,593, which was discovered in a safe during the home search of Roberto Galeas-Mejia, Eva Maria Galeas and Lisa Marie Ortega. Additionally, Galeas and Ortega were assessed money judgement in the amounts of $97,668 and $21,388, respectively.

On Feb. 25, 2024, the BPSO, Bossier City, Louisiana, arrested the noncitizen for driving while intoxicated, being an unlicensed driver and expired vehicle registration. The next day, the ERO New Orleans Criminal Apprehension Program identified the individual as a previously removed noncitizen wanted for murder in Honduras.

ERO Philadelphia removed Anthony Eduardo Murillo Oliva, a citizen of Honduras, with a final order of removal, to Honduras on March 18.

Steven Lee Carty, 55, of Live Oak, was previously convicted of possessing, receiving and distributing child sex abuse images and has been ordered to pay $19,000 in restitution to his victims. 

On March 18, ERO New York City arrested an unlawfully present citizen of Colombia convicted of conspiring to distribute and possession with intent to distribute one kilogram and more of heroin.

ERO Boston arrested an unlawfully present Brazilian national wanted in his home country for failing to complete a 19-year prison sentence for an armed robbery conviction.

HSI Jacksonville, CCSO, the FHP – Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence and IRS-CI, determined Christopher Leo Daragjati, of Middleburg, Florida, frequently obtained PII, including the Social Security numbers of multiple victims, to apply for U.S. SBA's PPP loan forgiveness program, as well as fraudulently file multiple tax returns in different stolen identities.

Savannah Nicole Valdez, a 21-year-old resident of Houston, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 15 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

County executives and ERO Baltimore leadership agreed on Feb. 27 to cooperate on apprehending and removing violent noncitizen offenders from Montgomery County communities.

Rayvon Birden, 26, of Raleigh, North Carolina, entered the guilty plea on March 13 at the U.S. District Court in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Kenneth Fleming and Akua Mosaics, Inc. (“Akua Mosaics”) pleaded guilty March 19 to a conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371 and 545, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

The 30-year-old unlawfully present Honduran citizen is wanted by authorities in Honduras for the crime of homicide using a firearm.

Special agents with HSI Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Seattle Field Offices, along with HSI Brussels, and the National Police Force of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, coordinated the international takedown of four domain servers allegedly used to sell fake pharmaceutical grade drugs, some of which contained methamphetamine and fentanyl and were unlawfully distributed across the United States.

On March 15, ERO New York City arrested Maria Oliva Guaman, an unlawfully present citizen of Ecuador convicted by the New York Supreme Court of felony manslaughter.

On Jan. 11, Nino Valmeo, 47, was sentenced to three years of supervised release with the first six months on home confinement after pleading guilty in August 2023.

ICE engages with stakeholders nationwide, including state, local, tribal, territorial governments, elected officials, and law enforcement, the private sector, faith-based organizations and colleges and universities.

ICE engages with stakeholders nationwide, including state, local, tribal, territorial governments, elected officials, and law enforcement, the private sector, faith-based organizations and colleges and universities.

Those included removal flights to Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. If a noncitizen arrives and has no legal basis to remain in the United States they will be processed and removed quickly, consistent with U.S. law.

Alfonso Salcido Herrera, 46, pleaded guilty in federal court to the same charge on March 30, 2023.

In addition, Sam David Harris Jr., 38, of Middleburg, must serve a lifetime of supervised release. The court also ordered Harris to pay $65,500 in restitution to the victims of his offenses. Harris pleaded guilty on Sept. 21, 2023.

On March 12, ERO New York City arrested an unlawfully present Salvadoran citizen with convictions in New York for the crimes of murder in aid of racketeering, assault and driving while intoxicated.

Eric Lavon Williams, 36, of Pima, pleaded guilty to one count of knowing access of child pornography on July 12, 2023. When Williams is released from prison, he will be on supervised release for the remainder of his life and will be required to register as a sex offender.