Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/080508richmond.htm
ICE arrests 33 illegal aliens on grounds of new U.S. Federal Courthouse
RICHMOND, Va. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents yesterday arrested 33 foreign national who were working illegally at a construction site located in downtown Richmond.
The illegal workers were employed by a contractor building the new U.S. Federal Courthouse. ICE initiated this investigation after receiving information that illegal aliens might be employed at the site. Subsequent investigation revealed that some of the workers may have secured their employment by using false identification documents. Two of those arrested were charged criminally, one with possession of a fraudulent document, one with reentry after deportation. The individuals are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty. All have been placed in removal proceedings.
All of the individuals taken into ICE custody, including 29 males and 4 females are nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru.
During fiscal year 2007, ICE arrested 863 individuals on criminal charges in worksite investigations, and administratively apprehended another 4,077 illegal workers on immigration violations.
Since ICE was created in March 2003, the agency has dramatically enhanced its efforts to combat illegal aliens unlawfully working in the United States. ICE’s comprehensive strategy for effective worksite enforcement is aimed at promoting national security, protecting critical infrastructure, including airports and ensuring fair labor standards.
To help employers ensure that they are building a legal workforce through voluntary partnerships with the government, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a new initiative called the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers or IMAGE. IMAGE is designed to build cooperative relationships between government and businesses, to strengthen hiring practices, and to reduce unlawfully employing illegal aliens. The initiative also seeks to accomplish greater industry compliance and corporate due diligence through enhance federal training and education of employers. ICE strongly encourages employers to review IMAGE program materials available at www.ICE.gov
UPDATE:
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/080509washington2.htm
May 9, 2008
Colombian paramilitary leader extradited to the U.S. to face drug charges
WASHINGTON - Carlos Mario Jimenez-Naranjo, a.k.a. Macaco, was extradited today from Colombia to the United States to face drug trafficking charges in the District of Columbia and the Southern District of Florida. Jimenez-Naranjo made his initial appearance today in the District of Columbia before Judge Alan Kay.
Jimenez-Naranjo was indicted in the District of Columbia for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, with intent to import cocaine into the United States, and with engaging in drug trafficking with the intent to provide something of pecuniary value to a terrorist organization (narco-terrorism).
The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation. Jimenez-Naranjo can face a minimum prison sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life imprisonment. Pursuant to the extradition request, however, the United States has provided assurances to the government of Colombia that it will not seek a life sentence, but instead will ask for a prison term. ICE, DEA, and the FBI under the purview of the National Dangerous Drug Section of the Department of Justice worked together on this case.
Jimenez-Naranjo is also charged in the Southern District of Florida in a 20-count indictment with conspiracy to import cocaine, money laundering offenses and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine on board a vessel subject to United States jurisdiction as a result of an ICE-led investigation with the same participating agencies.
Before his arrest, Jimenez-Naranjo was allegedly one of the top leaders of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), a Colombian right-wing paramilitary and drug-trafficking organization. The AUC is a U.S. Department of State-designated foreign terrorist organization.
According to the indictment, Jimenez-Naranjo led the Bloque Central Bolivar, a group within the AUC, commanding an estimated 7,000 armed combatants. Jimenez-Naranjo controlled large areas where cocaine was produced, and his organization was responsible for exporting thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Central America, Mexico and the United States. In August 2007, Jimenez-Naranjo was served with a provisional arrest warrant based on the indictment in the District of Columbia.
— ICE —