New York Paralegal Blog

The United States, a nation historically shaped by immigration, maintains a comprehensive legal framework governing entry into the country. While the motivations for seeking a new life in the U.S. are often deeply compelling, it is critical to understand that circumventing official ports of entry and established procedures is a violation of federal law. This act, commonly referred to as "illegal entry," carries significant civil and criminal consequences under the United States Code. The legal ramifications become even more severe for those who re-enter after being formally deported. The Initial Offense: Improper Entry At the core of this issue is Section 1325 of Title 8 of the United States Code (8 U.S.C. § 1325), titled "Improper entry by alien." This statute explicitly makes it a federal offense to enter or attempt to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers. This includes crossing the border betwee...

You never know what you'll find at a flea market – antiques, toys or even a deal of a lifetime. But special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) warn that those deals of a lifetime may be too good to be true.

In the mid-1990s, tens of thousands of Haitians and Cubans attempted to seek refuge in the United States during what was deemed Operation Sea Signal. Years before that, tens of thousands of Cubans exited their country for the United States during the Mariel Boatlift. Both of these events serve as examples of mass migration and historical reminders of how such events can affect a nation's security.

CHICAGO - Special agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in close partnership with local law enforcement, arrested 25 individuals during a week-long operation that ended late Tuesday. This is the latest local effort in an ongoing national ICE initiative to target foreign-born gang members.

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) returned a collection of objects illegally imported into the United States from Iraq. The objects were discovered as part of four separate investigations by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Tampa, Florida; Newark, New Jersey; El Paso, Texas; and Little Rock, Arkansas. The objects were presented during a joint repatriation ceremony attended by Iraqi Ambassador to the United States, Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida'ie, Deputy Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Kumar Kibble, and Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office James McJunkin. "Pilfering and trading in a country's ethnic and cultural heritage treasures, either during a time of peace or upheaval, are major transgressions that ICE, in coordination with a host of domestic and international partners, works to detect and stop," said Kibble. ...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - On Saturday, 132 kilograms (290 pounds) of cocaine with a street value of $11 million was seized in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, by agents and officers from the following agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD). As part of a multi-agency operation, law enforcement officers assigned to the task force inspected vehicles, passengers and cargo on board ferries at the Fajardo port of entry arriving from the islands of Culebra and Vieques, off the southeast coast of Puerto Rico. During the inspection, CBP scanned a dump truck that arrived from Culebra, which revealed brick-shaped objects concealed in the hydraulic system of the truck's bed. Further inspection revealed that the hydraulic shaft was removed and the bottom was welded. When CBP attempted to identify the driver, he fled the port area undetected abandoning the tru...

OAKLAND, Calif. - A federal grand jury here has indicted the president of a Pleasanton, Calif., university on 33-criminal counts, charging her with an array of violations, including visa fraud, money laundering and alien harboring, as a result of a two-year investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Tri-Valley University President Susan Xiao-Ping Su, 41, who also served as the school's chief executive officer, is accused of engaging in a two-year scheme to defraud the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by submitting phony documents in support of Tri-Valley University's applications to admit foreign nationals on student visas. The indictment further alleges that after obtaining such approvals, Su fraudulently issued visa-related documents to student aliens in exchange for "tuition and fees." Su was taken into custody Monday morning at her Pleasanton, Calif., home by HSI special agents. She made h...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, working jointly with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) partners arrested, arrested two suspected Dominican Republic smugglers Thursday. Law enforcement also seized a 20-foot yola (boat) and 155 pounds of cocaine, with an approximately street value of $1.6 million. The arrest followed a multi-agency at-sea interdiction in the Mona Passage. The crew of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) aircraft detected two men aboard a suspicious yola traveling towards Puerto Rico during a law enforcement patrol Thursday afternoon, approximately 30 nautical miles southwest of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. U.S. Coast Guard in Sector San Juan proceeded to notify and divert several assets to approach the suspect vessel.

WASHINGTON—The Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security today jointly announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of individuals allegedly responsible for the murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE HSI Special Agent Victor Avila. The FBI, in conjunction with ICE, has established a 24-hour tip line based in the United States to process the information. Individuals in the United States with information are encouraged to call 1-866-859-9778. Individuals in Mexico can provide information by calling +001 800-225-5324. Spanish language speakers will be available using either number. Anyone wishing to e-mail information can do so by visiting: https://tips.fbi.gov. All information is considered confidential.

MANASSAS, Va. - Following an enforcement surge by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Virginia State Police, and U.S. Marshals Service along with 10 local law enforcement agencies, ICE arrested 130 foreign nationals with criminal records and eight fugitives in the Northern Virginia area. During a three-day operation that concluded Tuesday, ICE ERO officers located and arrested 130 criminal aliens with prior convictions for a variety of crimes, including rape, assault, burglary and narcotics possession and eight fugitives and three re-entry cases.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The police chief, mayor and a trustee of the village of Columbus, N.M., were among 10 people arrested March 10 for their roles in a firearms-trafficking ring, which was the focus of an investigation by special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). A federal grand jury in New Mexico indicted 11 members of the trafficking ring on firearms and smuggling charges. The criminal enterprise was based in Columbus, a small border village across from Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua, Mexico.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Jaime Zapata was shot and killed in the line of duty Tuesday afternoon after he was attacked by unknown assailants while driving between Monterrey, Mexico, and Mexico City. During the attack, a second ICE special agent was shot twice in the leg. He has been transported back to the United States and is in stable condition. Both special agents were assigned to ICE's attaché office in Mexico City. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Zapata family for their tragic loss," said ICE Director John Morton. "May the work we continue to do as an agency be worthy of a sacrifice as great as the one made by Special Agent Zapata."

NEW YORK - A company based on Long Island, N.Y., that manufactures specialty security products used by law enforcement and the defense industry is the first business in the state to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in an effort to strengthen its hiring practices. American Defense Systems, Inc., (ADSI) in Hicksville, N.Y., officially became a member of ICE's Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) at a signing ceremony here on Wednesday. IMAGE is a voluntary program that allows private industry to partner with ICE to reduce unauthorized employment and the use of fraudulent identity documents.

BOSTON - A Massachusetts medical center has become the country's first health care facility to sign an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to strengthen hiring practices and to combat the unlawful employment of illegal aliens. Saints Medical Center President and CEO Stephen Guimond and the Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Boston, Bruce M. Foucart, signed the IMAGE or "ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers," agreement during a ceremony at the health care center in Lowell, Mass.

EASTON, Maryland – On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using a federal information sharing capability in Dorchester and Talbot counties that helps federal immigration officials use biometrics to identify aliens, both lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked into local law enforcement's custody for a crime. This capability is part of Secure Communities–ICE's comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of aliens convicted of a crime from the United States. Previously, biometrics–fingerprints–taken of individuals charged with a crime and booked into custody were checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). Now, through enhanced information sharing between DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), biometrics submitted through the state to the FBI will be automatically checked ...

WASHINGTON — Tyson Foods, Inc. is the newest member of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) nationwide program designed to encourage businesses to collaborate with ICE and use hiring best practices to ensure they are maintaining a lawful workforce. Tyson Foods Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Ken Kimbro and ICE Director John Morton signed the IMAGE or "ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers," agreement during a ceremony at ICE headquarters. Tyson Foods, Inc., which employs almost 100,000 people at locations throughout the United States, is the first major food company to become a full member of ICE's IMAGE program.

Through the Secure Communities strategy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) improves public safety every day by transforming the way criminal aliens are identified and removed from the United States. This strategy leverages an existing information sharing capability between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to quickly and accurately identify aliens who are arrested for a crime and booked into local law enforcement custody. With this capability, the fingerprints of everyone arrested and booked are not only checked against FBI criminal history records, but they are also checked against DHS immigration records. If fingerprints match DHS records, ICE determines if immigration enforcement action is required, considering the immigration status of the alien, the severity of the crime and the alien's criminal history. Secure Communities also helps ICE maximize and prioritize its resources to ensure that the right people, proce...

SEDALIA, Mo. – On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using a federal information-sharing capability in Pettis County that helps federal immigration officials use biometrics to identify aliens, both lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked into local law enforcement's custody for a crime. This capability is part of Secure Communities — ICE's comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of aliens convicted of a crime from the United States. Previously, biometrics — fingerprints — taken of individuals charged with a crime and booked into custody were checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). Now, through enhanced information sharing between DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), biometrics submitted through the state to the FBI will be automatically checked against both th...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Two men were arrested Friday following the execution of search warrants for child pornography during "Operation Safe Halloween" conducted by the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office (WCSO), Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Arrested during the operation were William Lee Johnson, 34, and John Elwin Roberts, 58, both of Crawfordville, Fla.

WASHINGTON - Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton today announced record-breaking immigration enforcement statistics achieved under the Obama administration-including unprecedented numbers of convicted criminal alien removals and overall alien removals in fiscal year 2010. Secretary Napolitano's announcements reflect this administration's continued focus on smart and effective immigration enforcement over the past 20 months-prioritizing the identification and removal of criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety.