ICE Arrests Killers, Sexual Assailants, and Car Jackers

 Press Release:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of Public Affairs

ICE Arrests Killers, Sexual Assailants, and Car Jackers Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are criminal illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the United States WASHINGTON –– Yesterday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested criminal illegal aliens convicted for despicable crimes including manslaughter, sexual assault of a child, and carjacking. “Yesterday, ICE arrested criminal illegal aliens convicted for manslaughter, sexually assaulting a child, and carjacking,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “These types of depraved criminals should never have been in the U.S. in the first place. Our ICE officers are patriots who put their lives on the line to remove heinous criminals from our communities. Next time you see an ICE officer, thank them for their service to our nation.” Yesterday’s arrests include: Angel Rodriguez-Padilla, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras, convicted for manslaughter in Dallas County, Texas. Henri Oliva-Marroquin, criminal illegal alien from Honduras, convicted for involuntary manslaughter in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Pedro Bahena-Mendoza, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted for predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in Cook County, Illinois. Nehimias Isaac Aguilar-Velasquez, a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala, convicted for aggravated assault, domestic violence, and attempted sex assault in Phoenix, Arizona. Hung Thanh Dinh, a criminal illegal alien from Vietnam, convicted for carjacking with use of firearm in Malibu, California. Americans can see more public safety threats arrested in their communities on our webpage WOW.DHS.Gov.

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BEST OF THE BEST: ICE Officer Saves One-Year-Old Child’s Life at JFK Airport

 Press Release:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of Public Affairs

BEST OF THE BEST: ICE Officer Saves One-Year-Old Child’s Life at JFK Airport   This is the second child ICE officers have saved in recent weeks  WASHINGTON – On March 25, 2026, an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent helping to support Transportation Security Administration (TSA) operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York jumped into action to help save the life of a one-year-old child experiencing a medical emergency.  The heroic actions of this officer began when a one-year-old child became unresponsive in the arms of his father, unable to breathe for almost two minutes. CCTV review shows a passenger in a TSA Precheck line holding his one-year-old in his arms when the child’s arms go lifeless; panic ensues, and the father is seen scrambling around the area, and calling for help.   The agent working at his post, heard the screams from the father and other passengers and sprinted to the scene. The father handed the child to the officer, who then assessed the unresponsive child and began performing the Heimlich maneuver. After a few seconds, the child started breathing again. EMS personnel arrived on scene with medical equipment to further monitor and re-assess the child. The child was re-assessed and determined to be healthy enough to fly.    “The ICE agent sprang into action and saved this one-year-old child’s life. If our agent had not been there and stepped up, this would have been a tragic outcome,” said Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Despite the endless smears and lies told about them by sanctuary politicians and the media, our ICE officers show up every day to protect the Homeland and their fellow Americans.”   This is the second child ICE officers have saved in recent weeks. On February 20, off-duty ICE law enforcement agents saved the life of a four-year old boy who had fallen into a hotel pool. That day, off-duty ICE law enforcement agents were dining at a restaurant in Plymouth, Minnesota, when they were approached by a panicked woman seeking assistance for a four-year-old child who was unresponsive from drowning in a hotel swimming pool.  The agents immediately responded, performing CPR for several minutes. Local police and Emergency Medical Services arrived shortly thereafter and transported the child to a local medical center for further medical care. Thanks to this lifesaving care and quick action, the child regained consciousness.

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 Press Release

Kansas man sentenced to prison for receiving child pornography

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 110 months in prison for receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) images sent to him over the Internet from a man later convicted of child sexual abuse crimes. 

According to court documents, a federal judge found Frank Castro, 50, of Kansas City, Kansas, guilty of one count of receipt of child pornography after a bench trial.

In September 2020, Castro exchanged social media messages with Antonio Galicia in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Galicia offered to send Castro a video himself sexually abusing a young child. Galicia sent Castro a video file containing CSAM which Castro viewed.

While the Milwaukee Police Department was investigating Galicia for a series of child sex crimes, officers found evidence of the video transmission to Castro and passed the information on to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 

As part of his sentence, a federal judge ordered Castro pay a $10,000 special assessment to a government fund designated to assist victims of CSAM because of the harm done to them. 

“Predators who molest children inflict further trauma when they capture then share images of the abuse over the Internet, thereby making victims feel repeatedly exploited,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “The Defined Monetary Assistance Victims Reserve helps victims trying to rebuild their lives, and the money comes from financial penalties imposed by the courts on convicted sex offenders.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Audrey McCormick and Scott Rask prosecuted the case.

Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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 Press Release

Kansas City Attorney and His Client Found Guilty of Criminal Contempt

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Kansas City men have been found guilty of criminal contempt following a six-day bench trial.

Charles Floyd Anderson, 81, and his attorney Robert Pete Smith, 80, were found guilty of contempt by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark. The Court found Anderson and Smith willfully violated a court order to provide truthful, accurate and complete financial disclosures in an underlying civil action. The civil action was brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of Missouri alleging that consumers paid over $100 million in response to deceptive sweepstakes and prize mailers distributed by a family business enterprise built by Anderson, FTC v. Next-Gen, Inc. et al., No. 18-cv-00128-DGK (FTC Case).

Smith, a partner at McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, P.C., represented Anderson and his businesses for over 25 years before the FTC Case. As part of the FTC case, Anderson was ordered to complete certain individual and corporate financial disclosures. The entities, accounts and transactions that supported the criminal contempt proceeding involved Anderson and Smith acting as business partners or close friends, reaching far outside of the typical attorney-client relationship. The criminal contempt case focused on the apparent effort undertaken by Smith to conceal that affiliation and wash himself and his business relationship with Anderson from the FTC disclosures. Anderson, as a lay person, had a duty to provide truthful, accurate and complete information to the FTC.

Following the bench trial, the Court found, “Attorney Smith and Anderson willfully violated both the letter and the spirit of the financial disclosure required by the district court in the FTC Case. . . . Orders duly entered by a district court must be followed and respected. Persons or parties who do not do so, and who instead opt for willful deceptive gamesmanship or otherwise act in bad faith in complying with a district court’s orders are subject to criminal sanction.” The Court further found that “Defendants’ conduct illustrates a picture of deception and sanitization of particular relationships and assets from the FTC’s view.” The Court ultimately adjudged Anderson and Smith guilty of criminal contempt as charged.  The Court’s order is attached. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick D. Daly and Matthew N. Sparks and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda K. Hanson. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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 Press Release

Former Escrow Officer Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Cameron, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to bank fraud.

Tracy L. Kellerstrass, 51, former escrow officer for Cameron Title Company, waived her right to grand jury indictment and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to an information charging her with one count of bank fraud.

According to court documents, Kellerstrass was employed by Cameron Title Company from 2018 to February 2024. In her capacity as an escrow officer, Kellerstrass had access to Cameron Title’s bank accounts and ledgers and was only authorized to use the accounts for business purposes. However, as part of a scheme and artifice to defraud, Kellerstrass forged the signature of another employee on company checks and presented them for payment.

By pleading guilty today Kellerstrass admitted that she presented forged checks drawn on Cameron Title’s bank account and deposited them into her personal account.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Kellerstrass will be subject to a forfeiture money judgment and restitution in the amount of $460,415.84.

Under federal statutes, Kellerstrass is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole on the bank fraud charge to which she has pleaded guilty. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for July 22, 2026.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Brown and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ICE Lodges Arrest Detainer for Mexican Criminal Illegal Alien for Fatal Hit-And-Run of 62-Year-Old Man in North Carolina

 Press Release:

ICE Lodges Arrest Detainer for Mexican Criminal Illegal Alien for Fatal Hit-And-Run of 62-Year-Old Man in North Carolina Lopez-Gomez illegally crossed the border and was RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today released the following statement regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodging a detainer for the arrest of 25-year-old Erasto Lopez-Gomez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, charged with a felony hit-and-run of a 62-year-old man in North Carolina. According to local reports, on March 11, Lopez-Gomez was driving a vehicle that hit 62-year-old Christopher Babcock while on his motorcycle. Babcock was flung from his motorcycle and Lopez-Gomez fled the scene. Babcock passed away from his injuries. Babcock’s wife, Donna, told local news outlets, “I’m broken. This person took my life that day as well.” On March 25, local authorities located and arrested Lopez-Gomez who was charged with felony hit-and-run resulting in death. On the same day, ICE lodged a detainer to ensure that Lopez-Gomez is not released from jail into American communities. On March 1, 2024, Lopez-Gomez was apprehended by Border Patrol near Tucson, Arizona after illegally crossing the southern border. He was then RELEASED into the country under the Biden Administration. “This criminal illegal alien should have NEVER been in our country and able to kill Christopher Babcock,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “The Biden Administration’s catch and release policies let this criminal into our community, and now a widow is mourning the loss of her husband. This is the second hit-and-run by an illegal alien just this week. These preventable tragedies are the result of the previous administration's open border policies.” DHS law enforcement is protecting American communities every day from another senseless tragedy like this taking place in another town, to another family. Victims of illegal alien crime may receive support from the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office by contacting 1-855-488-6423.

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Make America Safe Again: ICE Arrests Multiple Child Predators in a Single Day

 Press Release:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of Public Affairs

Make America Safe Again: ICE Arrests Multiple Child Predators in a Single Day Over the past year, the Department of Homeland Security, under President Trump, has removed more than 700,000 criminal aliens from the United States WASHINGTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today the arrest of numerous criminal illegal aliens across the country, including multiple pedophiles. “Yesterday, ICE arrested MULTIPLE pedophiles from across the country,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “These monsters preyed on and victimized children. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, ICE is removing child predators from our country.” Yesterday’s arrests include: Jose Alfredo Farias-Perez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted for aggravated sexual assault of a child in Dallas County, Texas. Liew Liem Saecho, a criminal illegal alien from Laos, convicted for continuous sexual abuse of a child in Redding, California. Erick Jovanini Gonzalez-Vargas, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted for sexual abuse of a child in Salt Lake City, Utah. Li Chen, a criminal illegal alien from China, convicted for gang assault in Brooklyn, New York. Hamlin Antonio Maurice Reid, a criminal illegal alien from Jamaica, convicted for incest in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Americans can see more public safety threats arrested in their communities on our webpage WOW.DHS.Gov.

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