News and reports from the Department of Homeland Security.

A stranded hiker was rescued Friday, by an aircrew from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). CBP’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Tucson Air Branch launched a UH-60 aircrew to the Huachuca Mountains south of Sierra Vista after being requested by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office

US Border Patrol and the Puerto Rico Police Joint Forced for Rapid Action (FURA, in Spanish) apprehended Monday morning 15 non-citizens from Colombia, Haiti and the Dominican Republic after they disembarked from a makeshift wooden vessel near Rincon.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers intercepted the largest seizure in the history of the port with almost $1 million worth of fentanyl and methamphetamine at the Andrade Port of Entry.

Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore have teamed up with several state and local law enforcement agencies to search for a missing Maryland teenager.

A judge sentenced Luis Carlos Martinez-Chacon, 35, of Chihuahua, Mexico, to two years in prison and one year of supervised release on Feb. 22. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case.

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit removed a Chinese national convicted of fraud for lying about his ties to the Chinese government on grant applications. Officials flew Song Guo Zheng, 60, from Detroit International Airport to Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, Feb. 17, 2023, where they turned him over to local authorities.

A judge sentenced an Arizona man to 2 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release following in investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Kevin Durazo, 23, of Douglas, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting making false statements in connection with acquisition of a firearm and one count of making false statements in connection with acquisition of a firearm.

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) El Paso deportation officers removed an unlawfully present citizen of Mexico wanted for homicide on March 1. Authorities turned over Cesar Giovanny Palomino-Espino, 24, to Mexican authorities at the international boundary at the Stanton Street Bridge in downtown El Paso.

Eduardo Javier Gomez, 32, and Margarita Alvarez, 40, a former couple from Edinburg, pleaded guilty in federal court to benefiting from forced labor following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

On Feb. 27, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New York removed a foreign fugitive from the U.S. who is wanted in Hungary for armed robbery.

A judge sentenced an Arizona man to two years in prison followed by one year of supervised release on Feb. 22 following a probe led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Arizona.

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Los Angeles removed a Colombian national, with ties to the Colombian political party Esperanza, Paz y Libertad who was found guilty of conspiracy to commit hostage taking for ransom resulting in death.

An Ava man previously indicted for producing child pornography now faces additional charges that include victimizing a second child following a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and joint law enforcement partner probe.

Fugitive Operations Team officers with Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested Lenaria Aparecida Pereira Sandoval, 29, a Brazilian national convicted of first-degree murder and related offenses by a Brazilian criminal court, in Quincy on Feb. 27.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today issued policy guidance (PDF, 310.33 KB) clarifying how it evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for O-1B nonimmigrants of extraordinary ability in the arts and nonimmigrants of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry.