Mohammed Abouhalima, a native Egyptian, was deported to Cairo after spending eight years in US jail for his part in the World Trade Center Bombing.  Abouhalima was sentenced in 1998 after being convicted of driving his brother, Mahmud, to the airport, knowing of his participation in the bombing.  More than six people were killed and 1,000 injured in the bombing and more than $500 million in damage resulted.  An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent reported that Abouhalima was escorted by ICE agents on a flight from New York to Cairo on October 26^th. 

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The Tollin Group, a Texas employment agency that does its business as Remedy Intelligent Staffing, was sentenced to five years of probation, fined $20,000, and ordered to pay $414,000 in civil penalties for hiring undocumented immigrants to work at Wornick Co., a military battlefield rations producer.  The Tollin Group plead guilty in January to hiring undocumented immigrants and falsifying documents to conceal it.  An investigation began in 2003, when an al-Qaida operative was discovered with documents that implicated the Wornick Co. as a possible terrorist target.  The investigation uncovered hundreds of employees with false employment documents. No terrorist link was found.

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports that five Chinese citizens are being held in the South Bay on charges of smuggling women for a prostitute ring.  The enterprise allegedly shuffled Taiwanese, Chinese, and Korean women between ten massage parlors that served as brothels. These massage parlors were called “10-day homes”, due to the fact that the women moved parlors every 10 days to avoid detection. After a raid on October 26^th, 31 of these women were taken into safe houses. Authorities are trying to determine if they came to the United States willingly or if they were forced, and thus are victims of trafficking.  Victims of human trafficking are given three year visas as well as housing and job assistance in exchange for testifying against their smugglers.  Those who admit to willingly coming to the US to work as prostitutes are deported.  The five defendants charged with involvement in the prostitution ring face a possibility of ten years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, as well as possible money laundering charges.

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Investigations are ensuing after an accidental shooting of a prisoner by a Border Patrol Agent that occurred on October 26^th, five miles north of the Mexican border.  Statements from the border patrol agents and evidence indicate that agents began chasing several suspected undocumented immigrants on foot.  One officer drew his service pistol, which accidentally went off and shot one of the suspects. The man received a minor injury to the face, was treated, and released to Border Patrol.

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Two men were arrested on October 26^th in Pennsylvania after being stopped by state police on Interstate 80.  According to state police, both men were unable to provide evidence of their right to be in the US, and it was later determined by the US Customs and Immigration Enforcement that they were in the country illegally.  They are being held in the Centre County jail until immigration officials take them into custody.

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The Department of Homeland Security may place a long-promised technology initiative into a larger border security initiative.  America’s Shield Initiative (ASI), a border surveillance program, was originally set to be a $2.5 billion project including extensive technology and surveillance.  Some industry representatives are now saying that ASI may become part of a larger border program.  The Homeland Security Appropriations bill of 2006 provides $31 for the program, which is $20 million less than was requested.  There is talk that ASI will be submitted as part of an initiative known as the Secure Border Initiative.  The current surveillance system for the U.S. border has been criticized for aging equipment and inadequate coverage.

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San Diego County’s Camp Pendleton will be the next military base there to be checked for illegal immigrants working there. The North County Times reported on October 25 that the review will take U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) four to six months to complete, and that ICE will work with Camp Pendleton’s Naval Criminal Investigative Service and contractors on the investigation. The review of Camp Pendleton’s employees is being conducted in accordance with ICE’s goals to diminish illegal immigration, terrorism, identity and benefits fraud, and other border-related issues. Work-site enforcement is among the top priorities for ICE in this area, and they have already checked several other military bases work-sites for employees working illegally. More than 300 people have already been arrested because of fraudulent documents, and 18 foreign nationals containing security badges were arrested in April for working for a contractor at a ship-building area. Fines for hiring illegal workers cap at around $11,000, which serves as a deterrent for most employers. Any arrests of illegal workers require prosecution, but last year’s new guidelines cut back the number of prosecutions because of a lack of resources. Congress added 2,000 beds this year to detainment centers across the country in an attempt to improve the “catch and release” program’s flaws, which allow illegal immigrants to be released into the U.S. without the proper papers. ICE officials stated that the detainment process in this area is being expedited in an effort to save bed space at the centers.

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Frank Figueroa, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Central Florida, was arrested last week for exposing himself to a 16-year-old girl in a mall, according to police. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Mr. Figueroa began touching himself after catching the teen’s eye in the Millenia Mall, and the teen, who was not identified by police since she is considered the victim of a sex crime, stated that he exposed himself and masturbated for about 10 minutes before she left and summoned security. A security tape showed that Figueroa switched tables after she left and found a new seat facing other customers. He was charged with exposure of sexual organs and disorderly conduct in a public food establishment and booked into the Orange County Jail. Figueroa was released on bond, and ICE suspended him when it learned of his arrest. ICE spokeswoman Pam McCullough stated that the agency “takes any allegation of wrongdoing by its employees seriously and thoroughly investigates such allegations. ICE has placed Mr. Figueroa on administrative leave and launched an internal investigation into this matter.” The arrest has placed strain on the Orlando police and ICE, as both agencies work together to monitor immigrants at Orlando International Airport. Figueroa was posted to ICE’s Central Florida office six weeks ago, and last week his agents busted a prostitution ring. In a statement to U.S. Attorney Paul Perez, he promised to pursue all sex crimes vigorously.

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The San Diego Union Tribune reported last week that a Calexico woman, Socorro Kathy Escalante, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for defrauding immigrants seeking to enter or remain in the U.S. and ordered to repay her victims $458,600. Escalante had worked with a Border Patrol inspector, Jesus “Jesse” Alvarado, Jr., to allow a Mexican woman to enter the United States without the proper documentation. Alvarado resigned as part of a plea bargain, and Escalante was sentenced to 30 days in prison. This case is the first case of immigration-fraud to be prosecuted in San Diego federal court.

Immigration fraud occurs when con artists pose as consultants or lawyers and promise immigrants help with federal officials, usually people they claim to have contact with who can help them obtain citizenship or green cards. These con artists charge thousands of dollars, often for nothing, and when authorities are presented with the false documents provided to the immigrants, they learn of the fraud and the immigrants face deportation. In some cases of fraud, the immigrants in question have a good chance of staying in the United States, but the fraud prevents them from staying. Escalante pleaded guilty to conspiracy, tax charges and falsely using a government seal. Authorities hope to repay at least some of the money to Escalante’s victims, and during a search of her home and office they seized more than $78,000. Her company, Escalante Services, advertised widely in Mexicali and other Baja California cities, and was a center of fraudulent activities between 2000 and 2003.

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In a recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency news release, ICE announced that it would be collaborating with Defense Department officials to find and detain dozens of illegal aliens in the past two weeks who were working on construction sites on military bases in Louisiana, New Mexico, and California. Among those bases searched are the U.S. Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base-New Orleans in Belle Chasse, the White Sands Missile Range in Las Cruces, the U.S. Army’s Fort Irwin Training Center in San Bernardino, and the U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow. These workers gained access to sensitive military bases by using fraudulent documents, and ICE’s Acting Assistant Secretary John P. Clark stated that they “pose serious homeland security threats” and that “removing these individuals from sensitive worksites is a priority for ICE.” ICE agents have screened more than 450 contractors and sub-contractors at the U.S. Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base-New Orleans in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, and detained six illegal workers there. The facility also requested further assistance in investigating more employees working for contractors there, and ICE agents arrested another 10 aliens attempting to enter the base. ICE is undergoing an investigation into the hiring practices of companies performing contracting work at all of these military sites. Several arrests have been made at all these facilities in the past week. ICE has been targeting and removing illegal immigrants working at sensitive sites around the nation, including defense facilities, nuclear plants, chemical plants, airports, and seaports, so that the agency can better fulfill their homeland security mission.

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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced a new plan to reduce illegal immigration, know as Secure Border Initiative (SBI). The key elements of this plan include improvements in staffing, detention and removal, technology and infrastructure, and interior enforcement.   The DHS appropriations bill for this year provides increased funding for Border Patrol Agents as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents.  DHS plans to improve and expedite the detention and removal process through cooperation with foreign governments and updated detention facilities.  DHS also plans to update and expand technology throughout the border to improve efforts to reduce illegal entry.  This initiative aims at strengthening interior enforcement by working with state governments to ensure that employees are legally entitled to work.  SBI will establish dialogue with the governments of Mexico and Canada and work with foreign governments to expedite deportation of foreign nationals.  SBI will also help enforce the proposed Temporary Worker Program.