News Releases and Statements
News Releases and Statements
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — During Child Abuse Prevention Month, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Juan held the long-awaited iGuardians Summit in Fajardo, the most important event on internet safety and child exploitation in Puerto Rico. In collaboration with the Department of Education and the Municipality of Fajardo, the eighth presentation of the event impacted over 1,500 high school students from the Humacao Educational Region.
As one of its private detention contractors, it is imperative for the agency to engage with valued partners to ensure continued understanding of our changing mission space and the shared responsibility of appropriate care for those in custody.
ERO arrested a Romanian national April 5 wanted in their home country for kidnapping.
Consistent with ICE protocols, the appropriate components were notified about the death, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility.
ERO Baltimore apprehended a Salvadoran national and validated member of the notorious MS-13 street gang who was convicted in Maryland of conspiracy, armed robbery and weapons charges.
Deportation officers from ERO Boston removed Altair Jose Portuense-Lana, 51, via a flight to Brazil March 22.
Luis Alberto Hernandez-Venegas, 40, was sentenced April 15 to 97 months in federal prison. He will serve five years on supervised release after completing his prison term.
Deportation officers from ERO Boston’s Hartford suboffice arrested the 25-year-old Jamaican national April 3, after he was previously released by the Connecticut Department of Corrections despite the existence of an active federal immigration detainer seeking his custody.
ICE ERO officers in the Denver area of operations covering Colorado and Wyoming apprehended nine unlawfully present noncitizens who violated the conditions of their release in the ATD program during a local operation April 1-5.
ERO Boston arrested a Brazilian national charged with raping a Massachusetts minor. Deportation officers from ERO Boston apprehended the 20-year-old Brazilian noncitizen March 28 near his residence in Lowell.
HSI San Juan special agents arrested Luis Javier Perez-Badillo, a 49-year-old man from Aguadilla, whom a federal grand jury indicted April 10.
If convicted, Gary Dale Thrasher, 56, faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on the bank fraud counts, a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment for the passport fraud offenses, and a two-year minimum mandatory term of imprisonment for aggravated identity theft.
Jose Lainez-Martinez, 29, a Salvadoran national residing in Silver Spring, received the 24-year prison sentence March 26 after pleading guilty to his participation in a racketeering conspiracy, which included a murder, related to his activities as part of the MS-13 gang.
Joseph Marion, 41, of St. Petersburg, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and crack cocaine with the intent to distribute.
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.
Miguel Angel Garcia, 26, of San Antonio, was sentenced April 10 to 324 months of incarceration, a lifetime of supervised release and victim restitution of $30,000. Garcia pleaded guilty March 22, 2023, to production of child sexual abuse material.
The U.S. government transferred a shipment of weapons seized from Iran, intended to arm terrorist forces in Yemen, into the hands of the Ukrainian government April 4 to help equip Ukrainian armed forces in their fight against Russian invaders.
ERO Washington, D.C. removed a Mexican national who was wanted in his home country for kidnapping and drug trafficking charges. Deportation officers from ERO Washington, D.C. removed Francisco De Leon-Martinez, a 49-year-old Mexican noncitizen, April 10 and handed him over to Mexican authorities.
ERO Boston apprehended an unlawfully present Brazilian national charged with child sex crimes in Massachusetts. Deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested the 53-year-old Brazilian native March 28 near his residence in Revere.
If convicted on both counts, Kyle Burbank, 32, of Belleview, faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison, including a five-year minimum mandatory term of imprisonment on each count.
Imran Siddiqi, 40, of North Port, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, including a 10-year minimum mandatory sentence if convicted on all counts.
The individuals were charged with crimes of robbery; assault with intent to cause injury to an officer, fireman, EMT, nurse or crossing guard; resisting arrest; criminal possession of stolen property; and obstructing governmental administration. Four were released on their own recognizance after local arraignment.
Caleb Eduardo Gomez-Sanchez, 35, was sentenced by a federal judge on April 10 to serve 324 months in prison. Gomez-Sanchez pleaded guilty on Sept. 13, 2021, to possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
During the nationwide operation, ERO deportation 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.
On April 8, ERO New York City arrested an unlawfully present citizen of Mexico and legal resident of Colombia upon his release from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
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