Making Immigration Happen
Chicago Woman Arrested for Selling Fraudulent Identity Documents to Illegal Aliens
A woman was arrested Wednesday, February 13, 2013, on charges she allegedly sold fraudulent identity documents to illegal aliens. These charges resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigra

Tag Archives: border crossing

Polish Manslaughter Fugitive Deported by ICE

A Polish national, who is wanted in his home country for manslaughter, was deported and turned over to Polish law enforcement officials Thursday, September 20, 2012 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Dariusz Wietocha, 43, was deported via commercial flight Wednesday, September 19, 2012 and arrived Sept. 20 in Warsaw, Poland.

An arrest warrant was issued for Wietocha Aug. 30, 2004, by the Bialystok Regional Court in Poland in connection with a fatal traffic accident that killed one person and injured a second victim. According to the warrant, on Dec. 28, 1990, Wietocha was driving in Bialystok when he violated traffic regulations and hit two pedestrians, killing one. Wietocha then fled the scene of the accident.

Wietocha entered the United States by illegally crossing the Mexican border in 1991. He has an extensive criminal history in the United States, including a felony conviction in 2004 in the Northern District of Illinois for possessing Ecstasy with the intent to distribute.

In June ERO received information that Wietocha might be living in the Chicago area and that he was wanted for the crime of manslaughter in Poland. On July 17, ERO Fugitive Operations Unit officers arrested Wietocha near his Schaumburg residence and took him into ICE custody.

On July 31, Wietocha was issued an administrative removal order by federal immigration officials in Chicago. He remained in ICE custody until his removal yesterday.

“This individual snuck across the Mexican border to escape justice in Poland for the crimes he committed there,” said Ricardo Wong, ERO Chicago field office director. “On a daily basis, ICE protects public safety by arresting and removing international fugitives who pose a threat to our communities.”

ERO is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ERO also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or those criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.

Man in Washington State Sentenced for Border Drug Smuggling

A Bellingham man was sentenced Wednesday, June 13, 2012, in federal court to 24 months  in prison following an investigation by the Blaine Border Enforcement Security Taskforce (BEST), which is led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Carlos Martinez-Medina, 22, pleaded guilty in March to exporting a controlled substance. He was arrested at the border by Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers in December 2010 after officers detected cocaine on his driver’s license. A search of his vehicle turned up nearly three kilograms of cocaine that prosecutors say has an estimated street value of nearly $100,000.

According to court documents, Martinez-Medina, who had no prior criminal record, was paid $3,000 by an unknown individual to transport the cocaine to Canada. That man instructed Martinez-Medina to find a car and drop it off at a predetermined location where it was loaded with the contraband. Martinez-Medina later picked up the car and drove it to Canada. He was caught before he could deliver the car to a drop-off location in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia.

“When Martinez-Medina decided to accept $3,000 to traffic cocaine, whether he realized it or not, he accepted the risk of being caught and paying the consequences,” said Brad Bench, acting special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. “The BEST is determined to continue its coordinated effort to disrupt international crime.”

Martinez-Medina was deported back to the United Stateswithin days of his arrest. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) transferred their evidence to the BEST. The task force pursued the investigation, leading to Martinez-Medina’s federal grand jury indictment in October 2011.

The case was prosecuted by an ICE attorney designated by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington to prosecute immigration and customs related cases in federal court.

BEST Blaine includes law enforcement partners from HSI, the Drug Enforcement Administration; multiple divisions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including the Border Patrol, Field Operations, and Air and Marine; the CBSA; the RCMP; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; and Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.

HSI has established more than 30 BEST teams across the country in areas where transnational criminal organizations exploit vulnerabilities along the nation’s border and at critical seaports. HSI is committed to dismantling the leadership and support infrastructure of criminal organizations responsible for perpetrating violence and illegal activity along our borders and in the nation’s interior.