News Releases and Statements

The man was convicted of unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives in Brazil and sentenced to incarceration.

ERO Philadelphia removed Harby Rigoberto Vargas-Sanchez, a Honduran citizen with a final order of removal, to Honduras on an ICE Air Operations charter aircraft May 26.

The roster included Sinisa Djurdjic’s name; Djurdjic immigrated to the United States in 2000. HSI discovered that, on various U.S. immigration applications, Djurdjic had denied serving in foreign military and police units.

The United States removes foreign nationals – according to U.S. law – who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States. This policy applies to all noncitizens regardless of nationality.

Meshach Samuels, 26, of Placentia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

The 50-year-old foreign national, who has been identified as a confirmed, active member of Primeiro Comando Da Capital (PCC) – Brazil’s largest criminal gang organization – has been convicted of homicide in his native country. He unlawfully entered the United States near San Luiz, Arizona, in March 2023.

ICE deportation officers transported Marco Antonio Alcantar-Lopez, a 19-year-old unlawfully present Mexican fugitive wanted for aggravated rape of a minor; Vladimir Reynaldo Hernandez Aguilar, a 27-year-old, twice-previously removed Mexican fugitive wanted for robbery; Gilberto Cano-Troncoso, a 33-year-old previously removed Mexican fugitive wanted for drug trafficking; and Perne Vallejo Ayala, a 23-year-old, three-time previously removed Mexican fugitive wanted for auto theft from the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, to the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in Laredo.

On May 19, a judge in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt sentenced Franklyn Edgardo Sanchez, 26, of Adelphi, to 28 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Sanchez must also pay restitution in the full amount of all the victims’ losses, including funeral costs incurred by the two murder victims’ estates.

Tamufor Nchumuluh St. Michael, 42, of Rosedale, received the federal prison sentence May 16 in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore for conspiracy and violating the Arms Export Control Act by sending firearms, ammunition and other military-type items from the United States to Nigeria without obtaining a license from the U.S. Department of State.

Mohammed Al-Abadi, 51, was indicted in the Western District of Tennessee.

The United States has a longstanding policy of removing foreign nationals who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States.

HSI and OFO’s Operation Blue Lotus, along with the U.S. Border Patrol’s Four Horsemen operation, seized substantial amounts of methamphetamine and interdicted more than a ton of fentanyl.

The 37-year-old foreign national unlawfully entered the United States near San Luiz, Arizona, in January 2022. U.S. Border Patrol arrested him and served him a notice to appear before an immigration judge.

The FGR apprehended Michel Bacasegua-Barriga after extensive bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico. In addition to Bacasegua-Barriga’s arrest, the operation resulted in the seizure of firearms and ammunition.

On Nov. 19, 2021, the 31-year-old noncitizen was removed from the United States to El Salvador as an aggravated felon after a judge in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson County, Colorado, convicted him of stalking-emotional distress; invasion of privacy-sex gratification; and burglary in the second degree on July 11, 2016.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Raul Arias Marxuach sentenced Francisco Xavier Ortiz-Colon to 30 years in prison, 10 years of supervised release, and registration as a sex offender for nine counts of production of child pornography, eight counts of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual conduct, one count of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.

Kevin Grant McMillan, 36, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to life in federal prison without parole.

HSI Charleston Special Agent Brian Morris was recognized at the annual Crime Victims Assistance Awards Ceremony May 9 at the West Virginia State Capitol Building for his human trafficking investigation into a former law enforcement officer who recently received convictions for sex trafficking and obstruction charges.

The 23-year-old citizen of Jamaica was originally authorized to enter the United States under a temporary tourist visa for a limited time but remained beyond the terms of his visa.

Robert Quido Stella, 50, was found guilty of three counts of producing child pornography, each of which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison.

Robin Salinas Macal, 30, a Mexican national, was removed after having recently served time at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu for distribution of narcotics.

The surge, labeled Operation Blue Lotus, was launched by DHS along the Southwest Border, including the Southern and Central districts of California and the District of Arizona, from March 13 to May 10, 2023.

Rami Abuziyad, 42, entered the United States at the Memphis International Airport in Tennessee on Dec. 20, 2004, as a nonimmigrant with authorization to remain in the United States until June 19, 2005.

The 41-year-old citizen of Guatemala originally entered the United States unlawfully three times in 2001. The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended him on all three occasions and he voluntarily returned each time.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ross Roggio, 54, of Stroudsburg, arranged for Kurdish soldiers to abduct and detain the victim at a Kurdish military compound.