News Releases and Statements

Discussions included End-to-end Encryption (E2EE) and law enforcement legal issues on global public safety.

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.  

Joseph Alex Hernandez, 27, of Austin, was sentenced on April 4 to 192 months for transporting noncitizens resulting in death and 120 months for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The two sentences will run concurrently. Hernandez pleaded guilty Oct. 23, 2023.

Oscar Efrain Zavala-Urrea, 23, a Salvadoran national residing in Silver Spring, received the 25-year prison sentence March 19 for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy that included a murder related to his activities as part of the notorious MS-13 street gang.

Director Lechleitner also met with Homeland Security Investigations special agents and Enforcement and Removal Operations officers in Allentown in a townhall.

Juan Carlos Munoz, 42, of Mission, pleaded guilty March 29 before U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa.

HSI San Juan special agents executed four arrest warrants in the Llorens Torres public housing in San Juan after a U.S. District Judge for the District Court of Puerto Rico District signed a criminal complaint charging Luis Nomar Isaac Sanchez, Joshua Enrique Bula Cartagena, Kevin Manuel Bonilla Ramirez and Eli Yaniel Couvertier Pollock with illegal possession of a machine gun and aiding and abetting. During the operation, HSI arrested Couvertier Pollock, who is now in custody.

ERO Philadelphia removed Angel Anibal Alvarado Benitez, a citizen of El Salvador with a final order of removal, on March 22. Alvarado Benitez, 75, is wanted by law enforcement authorities in El Salvador for murder and other crimes.

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.

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.

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.

Today’s announcement is designed to advance these core values — requiring our law enforcement personnel to use body-worn cameras is an important step in modernizing ICE operations while building trust and confidence in our dedicated law enforcement professionals.

Thomas Evans, the firearms, defensive tactics and taser instructor for ERO Miami’s Tampa field office, took the top spot in the Pistol Caliber Carbine, C-class during the 2024 U.S. Practical Shooting Association’s Florida State Championships, outshooting 20 other shooters in his class.

Juan Carlos Perlaza Caicedo aka Olindo Perlaza Caicedo aka Gafas, 45, of Colombia pleaded guilty to producing and transporting several tons of cocaine from Colombia to Central America beginning in at least 2002.

If convicted, Reginald Dugger, 42, of Orlando, faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for the drug offense and up to 15 years in federal prison for the firearm offense.

A superseding indictment was partially unsealed in the Southern District of California March 5 charging alleged drug trafficker Benjamin Madrigal-Birrueta, 22, with murdering two people to prevent them from testifying in drug trafficking cases in federal court in San Diego.

On Feb. 29, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico indicted Kiara Ramos Melendez, 29, with one count of coercion and enticement of a minor and one count of receipt of child exploitation material.

Allan Alberto Moreno Trevino, 41, of Mexico, pleaded guilty before a federal judge March 5.

Michael Hart, 58, of San Diego, was arrested March 4 and charged with smuggling potent greenhouse gases into the United States from Mexico and selling them for profit, violating regulations intended to curb the use of greenhouse gases and slow climate change.

Noel Chimezuru Agoha, 40, of Baltimore, received the sentence Feb. 28 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The judge also ordered Agoha to pay $1 million in restitution.

On Aug. 2, 2023, HSI agents notified the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Apprehension Team that they had discovered Joshuah Cruz Eberhart, 25, of Clay Springs, was distributing child sex abuse material online.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership met with American University’s Center for Warfare Analysis and Evaluation this week.

This transfer is the first of its kind from the United States to a foreign ally for the express purpose of assisting Ukraine, and the second time the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture has made confiscated Russian assets available for Ukraine — having provided $5.4 million in forfeited funds last year to the State Department for the support of Ukrainian war veterans. The confiscated funds are being transferred to Estonia since under current authorities, the facts of this case do not allow for a direct transfer to Ukraine.