Two illegal aliens arrested for allegedly making, selling fake documents

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Two illegal aliens arrested for allegedly making, selling fake documents
Thursday, 23 December 2010 07:52
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Two Mexican citizens remain in custody facing federal criminal charges following the execution of a search warrant in a local trailer park Dec. 15 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents.

Rafael Montiel-Melendez, 35, and Hector Melendez-Segura, 44, were arrested Dec. 15 after ICE HSI special agents assigned to the ICE-led Border Enforcement Security Task (BEST) force executed a search warrant at a mobile home in the 9000 block of Zuni Road. The men, who are both in the country illegally, are charged with manufacturing and selling fraudulent identity documents.
They allegedly made and sold documents such as Social Security cards and alien registration cards, commonly known as "green cards." Both are charged with fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features and information.

The arrests resulted from a five-month investigation by BEST members.

ICE HSI special agents seized materials used to produce phony immigration and identity documents including blank card stock, a computer, a scanner, and other electronic media.

"Identifying individuals who make and sell fraudulent documents, as well as disrupting their criminal operations, is an enforcement priority for HSI special agents," said Manuel Oyola-Torres, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in El Paso. "Counterfeiters place the security of our communities as well as that of our country at risk, and HSI pursues them aggressively."

BEST is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE-led initiative that operates along the U.S.-Mexico border. BEST in Albuquerque was formed in August 2010, and is one of 21 BEST teams in the United States and Mexico. ICE is charged with enforcing a wide array of immigration and customs laws, including those related to securing the border and combating criminal smuggling.

Albuquerque's BEST members include the following law enforcement agencies: ICE HSI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Office of Border Patrol, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, the Albuquerque Police Department, the New Mexico Army National Guard, the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New Mexico.

BEST members are co-located so that they can effectively share information. Close coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies helps to identify and eliminate cross-border criminal organizations and the infrastructures that sustain them.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
http://www.borderfirereport.net/late...-documents.php

Prosecutions continue in illegal immigration case
MINNEAPOLIS -- Court action continued Tuesday in Minneapolis in federal cases involving five foreign nationals who entered the United States illegally after having been deported as criminals.
Two of those men pleaded guilty to entering the United States illegally, while a third was sentenced to federal prison on the same charge.
Before a U.S. District Court Judge, Salvador Landa-Meraz, age 22, pleaded guilty to one count of illegal re-entry after deportation. He was indicted on Sept. 15.
In his plea agreement, Landa-Meraz admitted that on July 19, he was found in the U.S. after having been previously deported to Mexico following a 2007 Stearns County conviction for second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
In the current federal case, Landa-Meraz was arrested on July 16 by St. Cloud police for driving while intoxicated, and was in jail when he was identified as an illegal alien through the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Criminal Alien Program.
The goal of that program is to locate criminal aliens incarcerated in federal and state prisons, as well as in local jails, and prevent them from being released into the general population.
For his crime, Landa-Meraz faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A judge will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.
In the second case, Pablo Martinez Miron, age 26, also appeared to plead guilty to one count of illegal re-entry after deportation.
Miron was indicted on Sept. 21. In his plea agreement, Miron admitted that on June 6, he was found in the U.S. after having been previously been deported to Mexico following a 2009 Mower County conviction for aggravated forgery.
Miron was recently arrested again in Mower County and was in jail there when he was identified through the CAP.
For his crime, Miron faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A judge will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.
Also on Tuesday, Alfredo Martinez-Martinez, age 58, was sentenced to 46 months in prison on one count of illegal entry after deportation.
He was indicted on July 13 and pleaded guilty on Sept. 28. In his plea agreement, Martinez-Martinez admitted that he was found in the U.S. on June 6 after having been previously deported. His deportation followed a 2006 Washington State conviction for delivery of heroin.
According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the current federal re-entry case, Martinez-Martinez was arrested by the Minnesota State Patrol on an outstanding federal warrant out of the Northern District of California. He was turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service on June 7.
Authorities learned that Martinez-Martinez has been deported on four occasions. He was also identified as an illegal alien through the CAP.
On Monday, Rafael Zelaya-Escobar, age 24, was sentenced to 36 months in prison on one count of unlawful entry after removal. He was indicted on Aug. 3 and pleaded guilty on Oct. 5.
In his plea agreement, Zelaya-Escobar admitted he was found in the U.S. on June 17 after having been previously deported. His deportation followed a 2008 Ramsey County conviction for third degree sale of a controlled substance.
In the fifth case, a national of the Dominican Republic pleaded guilty on Monday in Minneapolis to one count of unlawful entry after removal. Darling Paulino-Duarte was indicted on Oct. 13.
In his plea agreement, he admitted that on Jan. 12, he was found in the U.S. after having been previously deported. His deportation followed a 1997 New York conviction for attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance. Paulino-Duarte was most recently arrested by Bloomington Police on Jan. 9 for possession of methamphetamine and fleeing police in a motor vehicle.
He was also identified as an illegal alien through the CAP. For his crime, Paulino-Duarte faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. U.S.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/407847...inneapolis_mn/