News Releases and Statements

Kristal Patricia Leonard, 34, of Huntington Beach, California, pleaded guilty in February to possession with intent to distribute meth.

On April 24, ICE was directed by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to make every effort to promptly and safely release juvenile aliens who have suitable custodians and who are not a flight risk or a danger to themselves or others. The court recognized that parents, not the government, should decide whether the juvenile should be released to a sponsor. To comply with this order, ICE was required to check with each of the juveniles – and their parents – in custody at family residential centers (FRCs) to make individual parole determinations with respect to those juveniles.

Terrance Nordwall, 51, of Faribault, Minnesota, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge C.J. Williams to 324 months in federal prison after a jury found him guilty Oct. 31 of attempted sex trafficking of children, attempted enticement of minors, and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

While in the United States on a visa, Emmanuel Odiah, 33, a citizen of Nigeria, most recently of Dallas, laundered money for a network of individuals perpetrating computer-based fraud schemes in Nigeria and Ghana.

Consistent with the agency’s protocols, the appropriate agencies have been notified about the death, including DHS's Office of Inspector General, and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility.

Investigators found the video of the infant, which was created in 2010, while preparing for Zweitzig’s sentencing hearing in a separate child exploitation case filed by this Office. In that previous case, Zweitzig was charged in May 2019 with five counts of manufacturing and attempted manufacturing of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

Lin Li, a.k.a. Aaron Li, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, possess and distribute at least 1,000 marijuana plants.

Pursuant to ongoing Cultural Property, Arts & Antiquities investigations by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York, a civil complaint was filed Monday to forfeit a rare cuneiform tablet bearing a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian epic poem considered one the world’s oldest works of literature.

Employers who were served notices of inspection (NOIs) by ICE during the month of March 2020 and had not already responded were granted an automatic extension for 60 days from the effective date. ICE will grant an additional extension of 30 days to these employers.

This gang investigation was prompted by three murders, occurring on the street, at Kissena Park and on an elevated Subway Platform in Queens. One defendant was arrested May 13 in Maryland. Five defendants were arrested May 14 in New York and California. On May 15, four defendants will be arrested and transferred to federal custody from detention facilities where they are currently held.

The HSI Orlando office recently honored fallen HSI Task Force Agent (TFA) Miguel Martínez-Ortiz during Running 4 Heroes. Martínez-Ortiz, a member of the Puerto Rico Police Department was a TFA for HSI San Juan and a 28-year veteran of law enforcement. He passed away on April 24, 2020, after contracting COVID-19 while on duty.

Martin Rosales-Rodriguez, 20, of Rogers, Ark., will also be required to complete ten years of supervision following his release.

Maria Guadalupe Chavero-Jimenez, 30, is accused of taking money from Banco Santender, Mexico. According to Mexican authorities, in 2016, bank officials reported a total of $1.6 million pesos, approximately $85,000 U.S. dollars, had been taken from a bank vault. The bank launched an internal investigation and learned that Chavero-Jimenez, who had access to the vault, had allegedly taken the money.

Celio Alexander Serrano-Trejo, 34, an MS-13 gang member, was removed from the United States via an ICE Air Operations charter flight and transferred into the custody of Salvadoran law enforcement authorities.

In June 2000, a magistrate in Oaxaca, Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Arsenio Victor Balderas-Martinez, who is suspected in the March 6, 2000, shooting death of a family member. If convicted, Balderas-Martinez faces a sentence of 35 years in prison.

Matthew Owens, 42, has been charged by criminal complaint with smuggling and the receipt in interstate commerce of misbranded drugs and the delivery thereof for pay.

Chaunta A. Bashir, a.k.a. “taytheonly,” 26, of Chino, agreed to plead guilty to one count of production of child pornography, according to a plea agreement filed Monday in United States District Court. A hearing where Bashir will enter his guilty plea is expected to be set in the coming weeks.

Consistent with the agency’s protocols, the appropriate agencies have been notified about the death, including the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

Criminal organizations continue to try to smuggle fraudulent, mislabeled, and unauthorized COVID-19 related products, such as purported anti-viral products, personal protective equipment (PPE), and test kits across the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez border.

Michael Diaz-Calderon, 51, from Washington State, was charged May 6, 2020, by a U.S. District Judge.