News Releases and Statements

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

Kemal Mrndzic, 50, was charged with falsifying, concealing and covering up a material fact from the U.S. government by trick, scheme or device; using a fraudulently obtained U.S. passport; and possessing and using a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate and fraudulently obtained Social Security card. Mrndzic was arrested May 17, and following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston before Chief Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley, was released on a $30,000 cash bond.

Brenda Belinda Barba, 33, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for exporting pistols to Mexico from the United States. She will also serve three years of supervised release. At the hearing, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez heard additional evidence regarding WhatsApp messages Barba sent on the morning of her arrest to negotiate the firearm purchases and transport.

U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez sentenced Joseph Gray Jr., 47, to 360 months in federal prison for smuggling meth. His co-defendant, Jasmine Cecelia Dorsey, 28, was ordered to serve 64 months in prison for the same offense. Both Gray and Dorsey must also serve five and three years, respectively, of supervised release following incarceration.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted multiple removal flights including Ecuador, Guatemala and Honduras as part of dozens of flights conducted each week.

Richard O’Connor, 45, of Anaheim, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.

Roberto Lugardo Moreno Jr., 42, of Harlingen, pleaded guilty to aiding the smuggling of a firearm into Mexico knowing it was intended for members of the Gulf Cartel.

Kyle William Leishear, 43, of Bayonet Point, Florida, received a 20-year prison sentence May 11. On April 25, Leishear’s three co-defendants received prison sentences for their roles in the enterprise: Christopher William Kuehner, 38, of Bremerton, Washington, received a 20-year sentence; Jacob Royce Mullins, 20, of South Webster, Ohio, received a seven-year sentence; and Matthew Martin, 25, of Lancaster, Wisconsin, received a sentence of six years and eight months in prison.

ERO New York City apprehended 10 unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of various felony offenses, including rape and homicide, between May 1 and May 4.

Carlos Alberto Castro-Ruiz, 26, of Phoenix, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18.

ICE conducted multiple removal flights today, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Israel, as part of dozens of flights conducted each week.

Andres Urias-Soto, 28, of Phoenix, Arizona, further pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit Resulting in Death and admitted to violating a condition of supervised release.

Darren Frank McCoy, a 55-year-old resident of McKinney, Texas, pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to transportation of child pornography.

The 23-year-old native of Praia, Cape Verde, entered the U.S. under a conditional status in February 2017, and had that status revoked by immigration officials in 2020.

ERO Philadelphia completed Operation Cross Check on May 15, a ten-day surge operation that resulted in 29 noncitizens with criminal convictions in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware being detained.

ERO Boston arrested a Portuguese national who was convicted and sentenced to prison for drug trafficking in Portugal on May 11.

USBP officials arrested Antonio Rodenas Hinostroza, 45, on April 18, 2022, for illegally entering the United States near Yuma, Arizona.

On May 12, U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard sentenced Nathan Tauck, 32, to 36 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of court-supervised release and to pay $60,000 in restitution.

Felipe Abad Medina-Rubio, 22, of Tamaulipas, Mexico, pleaded guilty before a federal judge for attempting to smuggle approximately 4 kilograms of cocaine into the United States through the Hidalgo Port of Entry.

Lazaro Segundo-Vazquez, 20, of Edinburg, appeared before a federal judge on May 15 and admitted to receiving over 1,800 images and video files containing child sexual abuse material.

The United States has a longstanding policy of removing foreign nationals who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States. This policy applies to all noncitizens regardless of nationality.

Angelico Roa-Joachin, 43, of Mexico, was convicted of conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for profit and reentry of a removed alien.

A Mexican national was recently sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing a semiautomatic firearm as a result of an investigation by HSI after USBP requested assistance for a traffic stop involving a Mexican national illegally in possession of several firearms.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted multiple removal flights on Friday, including to Colombia, El Salvador and Honduras, as part of dozens of flights conducted each week.

Daniel Alberto Arape Teran, 35, was escorted to a commercial flight to Caracas, Venezuela.