The Best and Brightest

Here we go again. Yet another newly-naturalized United States citizen has been convicted of traveling to Syria to receive terror training, fight on the side of al-Nusrah Front, an al Qaeda-linked terrorist organization, and provide material support to that terrorist organization. He was additionally convicted of lying to an FBI agent.

On January 23, 2018 the Justice Department issued a press release, Ohio Man Sentenced for Providing Material Support to Terrorists, Making False Statements to Authorities.

That “Ohio man” was Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, a native of Somalia.

I have written about this case in two previous articles, A Terrorist and Naturalization Fraud and How DHS Ineptitude Facilitates Terrorist Operations. As I noted in the first of those two commentaries, Mohamud committed fraud when he lied on his application for his U.S. passport by claiming he intended to travel to Greece when, in reality, he traveled to Syria. Furthermore, lying on his application for U.S. citizenship also constitutes fraud. Under Title 18 U.S. Code § 1425 (Procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully) the punishment for this crime carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years, when this crime is committed in conjunction with terrorism. This is a much greater penalty than he faced for lying to an FBI agent.

Of far greater consequence than the potential longer jail sentence than he faced for lying to an FBI agent, is that conviction for committing fraud in his applications for citizenship would have stripped him of his citizenship and subject him to deportation (removal) from the United States. Yet he was not charged with this crime.

The flawed immigration adjudications process, by which Mohamud was granted U.S. citizenship, provided him with material support by enabling him to legally obtain a U.S. passport that facilitated his travel to Syria. In fact, in reviewing communications with his brother, the issue of his becoming a United States citizen, thereby enabling him to obtain that U.S. passport, emerged as an integral part of his plan to travel to Syria, receive training and return to the United States to carry out a deadly terror attack.

Around the world, the U.S. passport is considered the premier travel document. Consider this statement from Chapter 12 of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States:

For terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons. Terrorists must travel clandestinely to meet, train, plan, case targets, and gain access to attack. To them, international travel presents great danger, because they must surface to pass through regulated channels, present themselves to border security officials, or attempt to circumvent inspection points.

Unfortunately, this case is not unusual and is only one of ever so many other cases where aliens successfully gamed the immigration system to gain various immigration benefits that enabled them to remain in the United States to support terrorism or even carry out deadly terrorist attacks.

All applicants for U.S. citizenship are supposed to undergo a Good Moral Character investigation in accordance with the appropriate provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Mohamud naturalized just months before heading off to terror training in Syria. Yet the Good Moral Character investigation failed to uncover his involvement with terrorism. President Trump stated that all DACA illegal aliens who would be provided lawful status and a pathway to citizenship wold have to undergo a Good Moral Character investigation. How meaningful would those investigations truly be?

Consider that on January 16, 2018 the Justice Department issued a press release jointly with the DHS:

DOJ, DHS Report: Three Out of Four Individuals Convicted of International Terrorism and Terrorism-Related Offenses were Foreign-Born.

That press release noted that:


It is more than a bit disconcerting that 148 naturalized citizens were convicted of terrorism-related crimes. How many of them had been naturalized even as they went about their nefarious goals, as did Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud? Remember, all aliens who naturalize are supposed to undergo Good Moral Character investigations, the most extensive investigation that is generally conducted for immigration-related benefits.

by Dave Gibson

YUBA CITY, CA – On February 21, Sutter County sheriff’s deputies arrested Juan Manuel Robles, 49, following a brief pursuit.

Robles has been charged with rape, lewd and lascivious conduct with a child, sexual penetration on a child under 14, unlawful sexual contact with a child, sexual battery, causing willful harm/injury, sodomy and evading police/disregard to public safety.

The Mexican national reportedly has a long history of sex crimes against children, and the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office believes there are more victims. Their investigation continues.

Robles has also been charged with illegal entry, and is currently being held on an ICE detainer in the Sutter County Jail.

JEFF DAVIS COUNTY, GA (The Shelby Star) – Nearly two months after a man was found dead on a rural undeveloped road near Crowders Mountain, two of the people police believe are responsible for the killing appeared in court.

Georgia authorities captured Doris Maribel Alvarado-Peraza and Maynor Hernan Ortega in Jeff Davis County last month. The pair was charged with the murder of Miguel Angel Valle Romero, whose body was discovered by an ATV rider on Sawbill Lane on Dec. 22.

The pair first refused extradition, but they were each brought back to Gaston County on Feb. 12. A third suspect, Elmer Alexander Lopez, was arrested by Gaston County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police on Jan. 9.

Alvarado-Peraza and Ortega appeared separately in Superior Court on Monday, flanked by a translator to help them understand the proceedings. Superior Court Judge Jeff Hunt appointed each of them a public defender to represent them as the case moves forward.

Alvarado-Peraza, Ortega and Lopez are being held without bond on immigration holds by the federal government. The trio face potential deportation if they’re ever released from jail.

Neither police nor District Attorney Locke Bell have revealed how Romero, 28, was killed.

OWELL, MA (The Boston Globe) – A 20-year-old woman who was cut off by another motorist in Lowell on Thursday allegedly took revenge by fatally shooting him. Then she bragged about it on Facebook, saying she had warned the victim and his co-worker, “Don’t make me spank you,” authorities said.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan said it appeared to be a “random encounter in traffic” and “possible road rage” that led to the shooting of Marc Devoe, 34, of Peabody.

Graciela Paulino of Lowell was arrested shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday and charged with murdering Devoe, Ryan said.

Paulino appeared Friday morning in Lowell District Court wearing a hooded sweatshirt and stood hunched over, trying to hide her face, during her arraignment. She was held without bail, and her case was continued to March 14.

According to a police report filed in court, the shooting occurred around 12:39 p.m. Thursday. Devoe’s co-worker, Brian Daigle, told police that he and Devoe were working construction jobs at the mill building near the Lowell Regional Transit Authority terminal, and went to pick up lunch. On the way back, Devoe “may have cut off” a car at the intersection of Gorham and Moore streets, Daigle said.

Daigle told police he then heard Devoe say, “Someone is following us . . . the kid is following us.”

When they got closer to the construction site, Devoe looked at the car behind them and said: “Someone is following us . . . I think we have a problem,” Daigle told police.

When the two men drove into a lot near the train station, the vehicle pulled up next to them. Daigle said he and Devoe got out and confronted the lone driver, later identified as Paulino.

Daigle said an argument ensued, and Devoe and Paulino “were yelling back and forth at each other.”

Daigle said he noticed Paulino reach to the left side of her waistband, and Daigle said, “C’mon, forget it, it’s just a girl,” and he and Devoe got back into their vehicle and drove away.

Daigle said they saw Paulino was following them again. Daigle said Devoe pulled over to the right side of the road and got out under the Hale Street Bridge. As Paulino drove past, Daigle told police, her car slowed down, and he heard a gunshot.

Daigle told police he saw a blood spot in the middle of Devoe’s chest. “I’ve been hit,” Devoe said. He climbed back into the driver’s seat and sped off after Paulino, until he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a Jersey barrier. Devoe then got out of the car and collapsed, the report states.

Devoe was taken to Lowell General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Less than two hours after the shooting, an ominous post appeared on Paulino’s Facebook page, apparently referring to the deadly encounter: “Tried to warn Em tried to tell Em told Em stop that you my son don’t make me spank you.”

Police noted the Facebook post in their report and used that information and witness interviews to request a warrant charging Paulino with murder.

It is not the first time Paulino has been in trouble with the law.

In July 2017, she was charged with resisting arrest, possession of a Class D drug, assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct. She also faced several charges stemming from an incident on Oct. 31, 2015, including illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, but those charges were dismissed, according to the Lowell District Court clerk’s office.

BOSSIER, LA (WGNO) – A man living in the United States illegally has been charged with molesting two generations of children in the same family.

Forty-three-year-old Daniel Hernandez Del Angel, a native of Mexico, has been living illegally in the country for the past 22 years, according to the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Officers opened an investigation into Del Angel in April 2017 when it was determined that Del Angel had sexual relations with a 7-year-old girl over a six month period.

Del Angel was arrested on January 25, charged with first degree rape and molestation of a juvenile, and booked into the Bossier Maximum Security Facility, according to the BPSO.

On February 13, Del Angel was arrested again and charged with molesting the 7-year-old girl’s mother on at least two occasions in 2003, when she was only 11-years-old.

Del Angel has known the family of his two victims for decades, according to the BPSO.

He remains behind bars with a $550,000 bond.

Bossier Corrections officers have been working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

TUCSON, AZ – Border Patrol agents assigned to the Tucson Station arrested a Honduran national on Friday morning and discovered his 2001 felony conviction for rape in California.

Agents patrolling near Arivaca, Arizona found and arrested 44-year-old Wilmer Avila-Gamez, a Honduran national, for being illegally present in the United States. During processing, agents conducted a records check on Avila and discovered a April 2001 felony conviction in Santa Ana, California for “Rape by Force.”

Avila will remain in federal custody pending prosecution for criminal immigration violations involving re-entry of an aggravated felon.

All persons apprehended by the Border Patrol undergo criminal history checks using biometrics to ensure illegal immigrants with criminal histories are positively identified.

PORTLAND, OR (KGW 8 News) – A man with a long criminal history, deported 20 times, was sentenced Friday to 35 years in prison after breaking into a woman’s home last summer.

Sergio Jose Martinez, 31, then sexually assaulted the 65-year-old woman and stole her car. He was arrested after assaulting a second woman and running from police.

Martinez, 31, was caught July 24 after officers chased him through a neighborhood.

According to court documents filed in March 2017, Martinez has a history of illegal entry into the United States. He has been a transient in the Portland area for more than a year and has been deported 20 times.

Martinez has at least five probation violations for re-entering the United States. His most recent removal was in November 2016, according to the March court documents.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an immigration detainer against Martinez, asking authorities to notify them before releasing Martinez to allow ICE to take him into custody. The Department of Homeland Security said a detainer was requested for Martinez in December 2016, but he was released into the community and authorities did not notify ICE.

Earlier this year, Multnomah County leaders and Sheriff Mike Reese wrote a letter to the community saying, “The Sheriff’s Office does not hold people in county jails on ICE detainers or conduct any immigration enforcement actions.”

Prior to the July 24 arrest, Martinez’s criminal record showed a felony conviction for burglary and three misdemeanor convictions for battery, theft, and obstructing a public officer. The court document also said he told investigators in March that he has a long history of using methamphetamine and was currently using on a daily basis.

The new charges Martinez was convicted of include first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery (two counts), second-degree assault, first-degree sex abuse, first-degree sodomy and first-degree burglary.

Police said Martinez broke into the 65-year-old woman’s home in the 1700 block of Northeast Irving Street and physically and sexually assaulted her before stealing her 2011 silver Toyota Prius.