stanforddams/biglocal huggingface dataset:
August 8, 2025Buffalo, NY, United StatesDocument and Benefit Fraud

California man arrested, charged with making fake IDs for DoorDash drivers following ICE investigation

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Miguel Angel Guevara-Murillo was arrested Aug. 4 and charged by criminal complaint with possession of a document-making implement after he allegedly told investigators he used the equipment to make counterfeit state identification documents, which he sold for $250 to people who sought to work as DoorDash drivers.

Guevara-Murillo, 34, is a Colombian national who entered the United States without inspection in 2022 and was served with a notice to appear before being released on parole.

Read more on Justice.gov.

Updated: 08/08/2025
February 20, 2025Orlando, FL, United StatesNational Security

Canadian citizen charged with unlawful aerial photography of defense installation

ORLANDO, Fla. – A Canadian national has been charged with three counts of using an unmanned aircraft to photograph vital defense installations and equipment without authorization as part of an ongoing multiagency investigation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a criminal information filing, Xiao Guang Pan, 71, used an unmanned aircraft to photograph vital defense installations and equipment at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, Cape Canaveral, Florida. On three separate days in January 2025, Pan took aerial photographs of Space Launch complexes, a payload processing facility, a submarine wharf, and munitions bunkers. Taking unauthorized photographs of vital defense installations or equipment is prohibited under federal law.

A criminal information filing is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law.

Pan faces a maximum faces a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison on each count.

This case is being investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Space Coast, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with valuable assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Air Marshals Service, the NASA Office of Inspector General, and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Varadan.

Updated: 02/20/2025
June 25, 2025Miami, FL, United StatesDetainee Death Notifications

Canadian national in ICE custody passes away

MIAMI — Johnny Noviello, a 49-year-old citizen of Canada in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was pronounced deceased by the Miami Fire Rescue Department June 23 at 1:36 p.m. The cause of death is still under investigation.

Noviello was being detained at the Bureau of Prisons Federal Detention Center pending removal proceedings when he was found unresponsive June 23, at 12:54 p.m. Medical staff responded immediately and began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillator shock and called 911.

Noviello entered the United States Jan. 2, 1988, in a legal visa status. He became a lawful permanent resident Oct. 24, 1991. On Oct. 12, 2023, he was convicted in Volusia County for racketeering, trafficking in Oxycodone 7-14 Grams, trafficking in illegal drugs 4 to 14 Grams, trafficking in Hydrocodone, and unlawful use two-way communication device facilitate commission of crime and sentenced to 12 months in prison. On May 15, 2025, he was arrested by ICE at the Florida Department of Corrections Probation office, issued a notice to appear and charged with removability, having been convicted of a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country, relating to a controlled substance (as defined in Section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 802), other than a single offense involving possession for one's own use of 30 grams or less of marijuana, as a non-immigrant overstay.

Consistent with ICE policy, ERO notified the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Inspector General, and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility via the Integrity Coordination Center. ERO provided telephone notification of the death to the Consulate of Canada.

ICE makes official notifications to Congress, nongovernmental organization stakeholders, and the media upon an official report of a detained illegal alien’s death and posts a news release with relevant details on the ICE public website within two business days per agency policy. This information may be accessed in the ICE.gov Newsroom. Additionally, congressional requirements described in the DHS Appropriations Bill of 2018 require ICE to make public all reports regarding an in-custody death within 90 days.

These reports may be accessed on the Detainee Death Reporting page.

ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments. Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay. All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during detention is a detained illegal alien denied emergent care.

Updated: 06/25/2025
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February 3, 2025Tampa, FL, United StatesFirearms, Ammunition and Explosives, Contraband

Caribbean arms trafficking ringleader charged with conspiracy to smuggle firearms from US

TAMPA, Fla. — A Trinidadian national, and international firearms trafficking organization ringleader, has been indicted with conspiracy to commit smuggling and conspiracy to traffic firearms following a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa investigation.

Shem Wayne Alexander, 35, of Port of Spain, Trinidad, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

According to the indictment, Alexander was the leader of a ring that unlawfully exported firearms, firearms components (including upper/lower receivers and gun parts kits), and related items from Florida to Trinidad and Tobago between 2019 and 2022. Alexander is a national of Trinidad and Tobago. The firearms, which included pistols and rifles, and related equipment were concealed within boxing or fight equipment, speakers, and other household items to avoid detection by law enforcement and customs authorities. Conspirators also acquired firearms in the Tampa area from different sellers through straw purchases, falsely representing the identities of the actual purchasers and recipients of the firearms, as well as their ultimate destination.

On April 7, 2021, Alexander directed conspirators to ship a package concealing and containing various firearms and related equipment, including a Taurus G2C 9mm pistol, a SAR Arms SAR-9 9mm pistol, a Taurus G3 9mm pistol, and a Ruger Security-9 9mm pistol, from Miami to Trinidad and Tobago. On April 22, 2021, authorities at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad seized those firearms and other related items that had been concealed in the shipment.

This case was investigated by HSI Tampa, including HSI’s Attaché, Caribbean, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance provided by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (Transnational Organized Crime Unit and Special Investigations Unit), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and United States Customs and Border Protection. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David W.A. Chee.

HSI Tampa’s area of responsibility, which includes 10 geographically strategic offices, covers more than 51,600 square miles of the total 65,757 square miles in the state of Florida. This region has more than 14.2 million people and includes 58 of the 67 counties. HSI Tampa also includes five of the 10 largest cities in Florida, 15 primary commercial service airports, and 11 seaports.

Learn more about HSI Tampa’s mission to increase public safety in Florida communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSITampa.

Updated: 06/13/2025
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June 13, 2025Omaha, NE, United StatesLaw Enforcement

Caught on camera: ICE arrests violent protesters who threatened federal law enforcement officers, damaged federal property following lawful operation

OMAHA, Neb. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested four aggressive protestors, June 12, who were caught on video damaging federal property and threatening to assault federal agents and officers following the execution of a federal search warrant at Glenn Valley Foods.

The protest was in response to a June 10 operation targeting illegal aliens suspected of victimizing individuals and businesses by using stolen or fraudulent identities and documents to gain employment illegally.

“Many of these protesters claim to be fighting for justice, but instead they damaged property, threatened federal officers and agents, and attempted to obstruct a lawful operation aimed at arresting individuals who exploited stolen identities to work illegally,” said ICE acting Director Todd Lyons. “The irony is stark; while they falsely accuse federal agents of injustice, they themselves engage in the very abuse, intimidation, and lawlessness they claim to oppose. I’d suggest they start standing up for the victims in these cases, these victims may have to completely rebuild their lives after having their personal information stolen or used fraudulently. Where is the concern for the justice they deserve?”

The investigation was conducted by ICE HSI with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the State of Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Fraud Unit.

The protesters arrested are expected to face felony charges of assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, or interfering with a federal officer while engaged in the performance of their official duties as well as damaging government property.

ICE HSI remains committed to protecting the integrity of our nation’s laws and immigration system and ensuring that those who exploit it, or attempt to interfere with its enforcement, are held accountable.

The investigation into additional individuals involved in the violence is ongoing.

“Peaceful protest is a right protected under the Constitution, and our agents are proud to defend that right every day,” said Special Agent Charge of HSI Kansas City Mark Zito, which covers Omaha. “But threats, violence, and property damage by criminal actors claiming some kind of vigilante justice will not be tolerated in the Heartland.”

If you’re illegally present in the U.S., you don’t have to — and shouldn’t — wait for ICE officials to arrest you. Instead, you can leave on your own terms. Self-Deport now.

Members of the public with information about suspected immigration violations or related criminal activity are encouraged to contact the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or submit information online via the ICE Tip Form.

Updated: 06/16/2025
March 14, 2025Jacksonville, FL, United StatesChild Exploitation

Child exploitation task force seizes 10+ million images, videos in second year, sends stern warning to predators

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In its second year combatting child exploitation in northeast Florida, the Inter-agency Child Exploitation and Persons Trafficking Task Force continues its relentless pursuit of child predators, warning them that, with the combined strength of multiple agencies and advanced resources, their abhorrent actions will be exposed, even in the darkest corners of the web.

In 2024, the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force initiated 1,220 investigations and resolved 728 Cyber Tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigators seized 122 electronic devices containing over 10 million images and videos, including more than 48,000 identified as child sexual abuse material. As a result, 28 victims were identified, and 66 arrests made, with many cases still active or in various stages of prosecution.

The INTERCEPT Task Force is a unique coalition of local, state, and federal law enforcement, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Jacksonville, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Together, alongside private sector partners, they adopt a whole-of-government approach and collaborate daily to tackle the complexities on the front lines of child exploitation and human trafficking.

Partnering with Operation Light Shine and supported by donors like the Tim Tebow Foundation, the task force provides law enforcement with essential tools, funding, and training to combat this modern-day slavery of child exploitation and human trafficking. This collaboration enhances their investigative capabilities with advanced technology and expert resources.

Since its inception in March 2023, the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force has become a national model in the fight against child exploitation, committed to holding offenders accountable and rescuing vulnerable victims. With the full backing of HSI and numerous law enforcement and private sector partners, this task force is resolute in its mission to hold offenders accountable and rescue vulnerable victims.

To report any information about human trafficking, child sexual abuse, or the trafficking in child sexual abuse material immediately to your local sheriff’s office. Those who wish to remain anonymous can report information to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through their tip line at (800) 843-5678 or report it to them online at report.cybertip.org.

Updated: 03/14/2025
April 10, 2025Chicago, IL, United StatesDetainee Death Notifications

Colombian national dies after being found unresponsive in ICE custody at Phelps County Jail

CHICAGO – A Colombian national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement passed away after being found unresponsive at the Phelps County Jail, Rolla, Missouri, April 8.

Brayan Rayo-Garzon entered the United States on Nov. 13, 2023, near San Ysidro, California without authorization from an immigration official. An immigration judge ordered Rayo removed to his home country June 12, 2024. He was previously arrested for shoplifting in 2024, and ICE arrested Rayo on March 25, after his arrest for credit card fraud by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

Consistent with ICE protocols, the appropriate components were notified about the death, including the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility. Additionally, ICE notified the next of kin.

ICE makes official notifications to Congress, nongovernmental organization stakeholders, and the media upon an official report of a detained illegal alien’s death, and posts a news release with relevant details on the ICE public website within two business days per agency policy. This information may be accessed in the ICE.gov Newsroom. Additionally, congressional requirements described in the DHS Appropriations Bill of 2018 require ICE to make public all reports regarding an in-custody death within 90 days. These reports may be accessed on the Detainee Death Reporting page.

ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments. Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay. All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during detention is a detained illegal alien denied emergent care.

Updated: 04/10/2025
June 4, 2025Alpine, TX, United StatesNarcotics

Colorado fentanyl dealer sentenced in Texas to 20 years in federal prison following ICE El Paso investigation

ALPINE, Texas — A Colorado man was sentenced in a federal court May 27 in Alpine to 240 months in prison for distributing fentanyl to a Texas resident as a result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigations Division, the Alpine Police Department, Brewster County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service assisted with the case.

“Fentanyl dealers trade in death,” said Jason T. Stevens, special agent in charge of HSI El Paso. “This sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime and Homeland Security Investigations’ commitment to ensure they face severe consequences.”

According to court documents, Douglas Christopher Steele, 54, of Denver, engaged in a text message conversation with a man living in Alpine on Jan. 29, 2024. Steele agreed to mail 20 fentanyl pills to the man’s work address. Steele notified the man that he’d mailed the package of fentanyl on Feb. 2, 2024, and on Feb. 5, 2024, the man’s co-worker received the FedEx delivery. Through additional text message exchanges, Steele and the man discussed the strength of the fentanyl, and just after midnight on Feb. 6, 2024, the man messaged Steele telling him that he nearly overdosed. Later that morning, the man was found unresponsive in the restroom at his place of work. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

An HSI and DPS investigation revealed the envelopes at the man’s residence had been mailed from Steele’s Colorado residence, and eventually the cell phone messages between the man and Steele.

Steele was indicted on May 9, 2024, in Pecos, Texas, for two counts related to distributing fentanyl and was arrested May 11 in Denver. He pleaded guilty Nov. 18, 2024.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Greenbaum prosecuted the case.

Updated: 06/04/2025
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April 27, 2026Charleston, WV, United StatesHuman Rights Violators

Connecticut woman sentenced to over 2 years for citizenship fraud after hiding involvement in war crimes

CHARLESTON, W. Va. — Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., through its Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, uncovered 53-year-old Nada Radovan Tomanic’s dark past and held her accountable for exploiting the American immigration system. Tomanic pleaded guilty to one count of procuring citizenship contrary to law Nov. 10, 2025, and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. The fraud charge stemmed from Tomanic concealing her involvement in torture and inhuman treatment amounting to a war crime while serving with the Zulfikar Special Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s.

“Homeland Security Investigations was instrumental in uncovering the facts of this case, ensuring accountability for an individual who committed torture abroad and fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship,” said HSI Washington, D.C. Special Agent in Charge Eric Weindorf. “This case highlights HSI’s commitment to investigating human rights violations and pursuing justice for victims of war crimes worldwide.”

During Tomanic’s time in the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, she participated in severe physical and psychological abuse of Bosnian Serb prisoners. However, while applying for naturalization, she denied having served in a detention facility or committing crimes for which she hadn’t been arrested once in writing and again while under oath during an oral interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer.

Since 2003, ICE has arrested more than 520 individuals for human rights-related violations of the law under various criminal and immigration statutes. During that same period, ICE obtained deportation orders against and physically removed 1,178 known or suspected human rights violators from the United States. Additionally, ICE has facilitated the departure of an additional 208 such individuals from the United States.

Currently, HSI has more than 1,903 active investigations into suspected human rights violators and is pursuing more than 1,985 leads and removals cases involving suspected human rights violators from 95 different countries. Since 2003, the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center has issued more than 80,000 individual lookouts and stopped over 415 human rights violators and war crimes suspects from entering the United States.

Learn more about this case on Justice.gov.

Members of the public with information regarding criminal offenders can make a report by calling the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about HSI DC’s mission to increase public safety in our communities on X at @HSI_DC.

Updated: 04/27/2026
February 18, 2026Miami County, IN, United StatesDetainee Death Notifications

Convicted alien felon passes away at Indiana hospital

MIAMI COUNTY, Indiana — Lorth Sim, a 59-year-old convicted felon from Cambodia, died in ICE custody Feb. 16 at Miami Correctional Facility in Miami County. Staff found him unresponsive in his cell, and he was pronounced dead at 7:10 a.m. despite lifesaving efforts by facility staff and EMS. His cause of death is under investigation.

Sim was arrested for disorderly conduct in 1989, indecent exposure in 1996, and larceny in 2005, receiving a suspended sentence and probation but no prison time. In 2006, ICE arrested him, and an immigration judge ordered his removal to Cambodia. On Dec. 30, 2025, ICE officers encountered Sim at the ICE office lobby in Boston and informed him he was under arrest and would be detained in ICE custody pursuant to a warrant of removal. On Jan. 5, 2026, ICE Boston transferred him to ICE Chicago custody. Sim entered the United States as a refugee in 1983 and became a lawful permanent resident in 1986.

ICE notified the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Cambodian consulate about Sim’s death, as required by agency policy.

ICE makes official notifications to Congress, nongovernmental organization stakeholders and the media upon official reports of in-custody alien deaths and posts news releases with relevant details on ICE's public website. You may access this information in ICE.gov’s Newsroom. Congressional requirements described in the DHS Appropriations Act of 2018 require ICE to publicize all reports regarding in-custody deaths within 90 days. You may access these reports on ICE.gov’s Detainee Death Reporting page.

ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments. Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay. All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screenings within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility; a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility; access to medical appointments; and 24-hour emergency care. At no time during detention is a detained alien denied emergency care.

Updated: 02/18/2026