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

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ICE Sting Operation Arrests 40 Criminal Aliens and Immigration Fugitives

As part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, 40 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators were arrested during a three-day operation in the greater Indianapolis area.

This operation concluded Sunday, November 4, 2012, and was conducted by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations teams in Indianapolis.

Of the 40 arrested, 25 had prior convictions for crimes such as: assault, domestic battery, drunken driving, and drugs. Thirteen of the 40 were immigration fugitives who had been previously ordered to leave the country but failed to depart; the majority of these also had criminal convictions. Four of those arrested had been previously removed from the country and illegally re-entered the United States, which is a felony.

Following is the nationality breakdown of the 37 men and three women arrested: Mexico (33), El Salvador (2), Cuba (1), Guatemala (1), Honduras (1), India (1), and Peru (1). The majority of the arrests (34), occurred in Indianapolis. Additional arrests were made in the following Indiana communities: Brownsburg, Camby, and Westfield.

Following are summaries of two individuals arrested during this operation:

  • A 31-year-old Mexican national has a prior criminal conviction for driving drunk and endangering a person. He is also an immigration fugitive with an outstanding deportation order. He was arrested Nov. 4 at his residence in Indianapolis and remains in ICE custody pending removal.
  • A 34-year-old Mexican national has a prior conviction for drug possession. He was previously deported and illegally re-entered the United States, which is a felony. He was arrested Nov. 4 at his Indianapolis residence and remains in ICE custody pending removal.

“ERO is committed to making our communities safer by arresting and removing convicted criminal aliens and immigration fugitives,” said Ricardo Wong, field office director for ERO Chicago. “By targeting our efforts on these egregious offenders, we are improving public safety while making the best use of our resources.”

This enforcement action was spearheaded by ICE’s National Fugitive Operations Program, which is responsible for investigating, locating, arresting and removing at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives.

ICE 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. ICE also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.

Department of Justice Restrains $4 Million of Former Nigerian Governor’s Assets

The Department of Justice has executed restraints on more than $4 million in additional corruption proceeds in connection with the prosecution and conviction in the United Kingdom of James Onanefe Ibori, the former governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta State. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Foreign Corruption Investigations Group, HSI Asset Identification and Removal Group in Miami, and HSI Attaché London.

As a result of this action, the United States has restrained more than $7 million in assets tied to Ibori and his associates, including the $4 million that were restrained the week ending in October 5, 2012, and more than $3 million in assets previously made subject to a restraining order issued May 22 by Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

“This serves as a warning to those corrupt foreign officials who abuse their power for personal financial gain and then attempt to place those funds in theU.S.financial system,” said ICE Director John Morton. “HSI special agents will continue to work with our law enforcement partners at the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section to investigate and prosecute those involved in such illicit activities and hold corrupt foreign officials accountable by denying them the satisfaction of their illegal earnings.”

Specifically, the Department of Justice filed an application to supplement the prior order in the District of Columbia to identify for restraint a luxury condominium unit at the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., as well as proceeds from the sale of another condominium, a penthouse unit, located at the Ritz-Carlton. On Oct. 4, 2012, the district court amended its prior order to name these additional assets, which the United States executed against the Ritz-Carlton condominium and more than $3 million in proceeds from the sale of the penthouse unit. The United States is working closely with the United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police Service to forfeit these corruption proceeds.

According to the original and supplemental applications, Ibori served as the governor of Delta State from 1999 to 2007, and misappropriated millions of dollars in Delta State funds. He laundered those proceeds through a myriad of shell companies, intermediaries and nominees in several jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom. Although Nigeria’s Constitution prohibits state governors from maintaining foreign bank accounts and serving as directors of private companies, Ibori and his associates accumulated millions of dollars in assets in the United Kingdom and the United States, according to the applications. Ibori was convicted in the United Kingdom of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud and was sentenced April 18 by a British court to 13 years in prison.

This case is part of the Justice Department’s (DOJ) Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. This initiative is carried out by a dedicated team of prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and where appropriate return those proceeds to benefit those harmed.

Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through institutions in the United States should contact federal law enforcement or email kleptocracy@usdoj.gov.

HSI’s Foreign Corruption Investigations Group in Miami targets corrupt foreign officials around the world that attempt to utilize U.S. financial institutions to launder illicit funds. The group conducts investigations into the laundering of proceeds emanating from foreign public corruption, bribery or embezzlement. The objective is to prevent foreign derived ill-gotten gains from entering the U.S. financial infrastructure, to seize identified assets in the United States and repatriate these funds on behalf of those affected.

The case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Woo S. Lee and Elizabeth Aloi of the DOJ Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.

M.C. Law Group Opens Office in Stamford, CT

M.C. Law Group has opened a new branch in Stamford, Connecticut. The full-service law firm is experienced in all areas of U.S. immigration and nationality law. In addition, the firm also handles cases in a wide variety of legal matters including family law and divorce cases, criminal matters, tax preparation and tax resolution, and business law cases.

 The Stamford branch, located at 39 Clovelly Road, is the third branch for this growing law firm. Two additional branches are located in Waterbury and Hartford, and the firm is based in Bridgeport.

 Follow the link below to learn more about the new branch, M.C. Law Group, and its legal services.

Stamford Immigration Lawyer in Connecticut

ICE Sting Operation Arrests Over a Dozen Criminal Aliens in Maryland

As part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, officers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore Fugitive Operations teams arrested 17 public safety threats in Prince George’s County, Md., and surrounding areas as part of a three-day “Cross Check” enforcement operation targeting at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives.

“The results of this targeted enforcement operation underscore ICE’s ongoing commitment to strengthening and protecting public safety with a focus on the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens and those that game our nation’s immigration system,” said Calvin McCormick, field office director for ERO Baltimore. “ERO officers will continue to work tirelessly in protecting the public safety of Maryland communities by locating, apprehending and removing these at-large criminal aliens and repeat immigration violators that have blatantly disregarded the law. Maryland is safer today because there are 17 fewer criminal aliens in our neighborhoods.”

This three-day operation, which commenced Aug. 28 and ended Aug. 30, resulted in the arrest of 17 males, all with prior criminal convictions including six with assault convictions (including assault on a police officer), three with drug distribution convictions, two with weapons convictions, three with larceny convictions, one with an arson conviction, and one has multiple DUI convictions. They are from countries spanning the globe including the Bahamas, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua and Sierra Leone. The 17 were residing in the following Maryland communities: Bowie, Brentwood, Glenn Dale, Hyattsville, Lanham, Oxon Hill, Seat Pleasant, Riverdale, Silver Spring and Upper Marlboro.

In addition to being convicted criminals, two of those arrested were also immigration fugitives who had previously been ordered to leave the country but failed to depart. Additionally, two were illegal re-entrants who had been previously removed from the country, a federal felony offense.

The arrestees include:

  • A 22-year-old citizen and national of Mexico, who was residing in Lanham, Md., convicted in December 2011 in Prince Georges County of second degree assault. He is currently in ERO custody pending immigration removal proceedings.
  • A 44-year-old citizen and national of El Salvador, who was residing in Lanham, Md., convicted in January 1995 in Prince George’s County of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and in October 1994 in Montgomery County of theft. Additionally, he was deported to El Salvador in September 1998 and illegally re-entered the U.S. on an unknown date at an unknown place. He is currently in ERO custody pending his removal to El Salvador.

These arrests were coordinated with ICE’s National Fugitive Operations Program, which is responsible for investigating, locating, arresting and removing at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives – aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation handed down by federal immigration courts. ICE’s Fugitive Operations teams give top priority to cases involving aliens who pose a threat to national security and public safety, including members of transnational street gangs and child sex offenders.

Criminal Alien and Child Predator Sentenced for Illegal Reentry

A citizen and national of El Salvador and a member of the MS-13 street gang who was previously convicted of sexually assaulting a child in Fairfax County, Va., was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison Friday, August 31, 2012, for illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.

The case of illegal re-entry was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

According to court documents, Salvador Portillo, 30, illegally entered the United States and was removed by ICE Oct. 8, 2003. Thereafter, Portillo again illegally reentered the United States.

On Dec. 26, 2010, he sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl in Fairfax County, Va. He was subsequently convicted of rape and sodomy in Fairfax County Circuit Court and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The 12 month sentence for illegal re-entry will follow the completion of the sentence term imposed by Fairfax County.

Portillo pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry July 23.