Media Insists Illegal Alien Was ‘Wrongly Deported.’ Court Docs Say He’s An MS-13 Human Trafficker
The left that marketed him as the 'wrongfully deported Maryland dad' now downplays his alleged crimes to fit their messaging.The left that marketed him as the 'wrongfully deported Maryland dad' now downplays his alleged crimes to fit their messaging.Exclusive photos: ICE raids club owned by suspected terrorist — captures scores of illegal aliens, including alleged killer
Immigration and Customs Enforcement led an operation on Sunday in Charleston, South Carolina, that resulted in the arrest of a suspected terrorist and captured dozens of illegal aliens.
A Department of Homeland Security press release, obtained by Blaze News, stated that Homeland Security Investigations Charlotte led an operation alongside local law enforcement that targeted “an underground illegal nightclub” called the Alamo.
'Leave now or ICE will find you and deport you.'
The press release claimed the unlicensed establishment was operated by “a suspected member of the Los Zetas Cartel,” formally known as Cártel del Noreste, which President Donald Trump previously designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
According to the press release, ICE received a tip indicating that the Alamo was a hub for widespread illegal activities, including weapons, narcotics, and human trafficking.
ICE’s operation resulted in the arrest of 72 illegal aliens and the recovery of six children, who were then transferred to social services to ensure their safety and well-being.
The arrests are still being processed, the agency noted.
Federal immigration authorities also seized cash, narcotics, and firearms during Sunday’s raid.
ICE referred to Sergio Joel Galo-Baca, described as “a Honduran illegal alien and foreign fugitive with an active Interpol Red Notice for homicide in Honduras,” as one of its “most high-profile arrests” of the operation.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated, “Day in and day out, the brave men and women of ICE are working with local law enforcement to keep American communities safe. The successful operation that took place in the Charleston area resulted in more than 70 arrests of illegal aliens — including an international murder suspect and the dismantling of a nightclub run by a suspected cartel member where drug, weapon, and human trafficking were taking place.”
“Under President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, fugitives and law breakers are on notice: Leave now or ICE will find you and deport you," McLaughlin added.
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Exclusive: Massive 18-state operation shatters Chinese sex-trafficking networks
Chinese organized crime is fueling a $5 billion-per-year sex-trafficking empire in the United States, operating numerous illicit massage parlors where 75,000 victims are enslaved and traumatized.
This modern slavery crisis was the target of a nationwide operation on Thursday involving 18 states and more than 150 law enforcement agencies, Blaze News has learned.
'We've not been giving our law enforcement officers the tools that they need to battle trafficking, and that's why trafficking continues to increase.'
Dan Nash, the founder of the Human Trafficking Training Center and a retired Missouri state trooper, coordinated the action, dubbed Operation Coast to Coast.
Thursday's sweep marked the third time Nash and HTTC launched the effort, which aimed to identify sex-trafficking victims, arrest traffickers, and share intelligence.
The joint mission raided illegal massage parlors and hotels, as well as targeted sex buyers. An Operation Coast to Coast press release obtained exclusively by Blaze News noted that Chinese criminal organizations run the billion-dollar-per-year illicit industry.
Nash told Blaze News, "In California and New York, they have more illicit massage business than they do Starbucks and McDonald's combined."
He has used his 27 years in law enforcement to train thousands of officers across the country on how to identify and handle these trafficking situations.
"Most people think that the police officers are trained, but they're not. They don't get this kind of training," Nash stated, adding that his training program was created out of necessity.
Nash explained that despite working in human trafficking for 17 years, he was never instructed on how to interact with victims or how to investigate trafficking cases.
"We've not been giving our law enforcement officers the tools that they need to battle trafficking, and that's why trafficking continues to increase," he told Blaze News.
Only agencies that have participated in HTTC's training program can participate in the nationwide operation, in large part because many agencies in the U.S. arrest the victims for prostitution, Nash explained.
"Part of our training is explaining to law enforcement that these actually are victims, showing them why they are victims, showing them about the forced criminality component that is taking place and how to actually get to the trafficker when they find these victims," Nash continued. "We know the academic research is very, very clear, both in Europe [and] in the United States, that some 90[%] to 93% of all persons involved in commercial sex are actually being trafficked or under third-party control."
Regarding the Chinese organized crime syndicates, Nash explained that they are "the fastest growing in all of America," noting a 32% increase over the past three years. These groups operate 19,000 of the illicit massage businesses currently operating in the country, he added.
"Each [illicit massage business] will have two to four trafficking victims. So, you can do the math. That's a lot of trafficking victims," Nash stated.
Nash told Blaze News that the goal of Thursday's operation was to shut down 50 to 100 illicit massage businesses and to offer assistance to those victims.
Nash shed light on the identities of the victims trapped in these illegal sex-trafficking rings, stating that most are females recruited in China, many of whom have entered the U.S. by claiming asylum. With President Donald Trump's southern border and asylum loophole crackdown, more victims are being trafficked across the northern border, Nash said.
While the crackdown involved numerous law enforcement agencies, it was run from the Des Moines-based Iowa Fusion Center, a division of the Iowa Department of Public Safety, and involved several anti-trafficking groups.
'The reality is that there are hundreds of thousands of people trafficked in the US every year, and 99% are never identified.'
The Safe House Project was one of those support organizations offering thousands of resources to help victims escape trafficking by partnering with law enforcement to identify individuals in need of assistance.
Kristi Wells, the nonprofit's co-founder and CEO, told Blaze News that without support services, 80% of these vulnerable individuals will experience revictimization.
Wells stated that Operation Coast to Coast has opened an "opportunity to send this clear message to traffickers that this crime isn't going to be tolerated in our community."
Wells explained that victims have a variety of needs, stating that some may have been forced into drug addiction, may not speak English, or may lack immigration documents.
"All of them have experienced horrific trauma that takes therapy and healing to recover and to rebuild life anew," she told Blaze News. "Our team does a beautiful job of building trust with that survivor and communicating with them and finding translators and working to give them choice, which is the thing that has been robbed from them."
RELATED: Trump's FBI rescues 115 children, nabbing 205 alleged sex predators in nationwide sting
Delta Airlines also assisted the operation through its human trafficking voucher system, allowing victims access to transportation across the country to enter shelters or reunite with family.
Last year, Operation Coast to Coast kicked off in 14 states, identifying 97 victims, arresting 39 suspected traffickers, and seizing over $292,000.
Nash told Blaze News that the most important message of the operation is that "not any one person or group can stop this human trafficking."
He emphasized that the nation needs anti-trafficking organizations, law enforcement, and the public to work together to help end the rampant crisis.
Wells echoed Nash's sentiments, highlighting the importance of the public's assistance in stopping trafficking.
"When something feels off, it can be difficult for people to know what to do, and it kind of leaves them feeling helpless. The reality is that there are hundreds of thousands of people trafficked in the U.S. every year, and 99% are never identified," she told Blaze News. "When we can equip and mobilize communities to respond to human trafficking, then we have the ability to see an issue that historically has gone unseen."
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Horrifying: Biden administration turned a blind eye to deadly child trafficking
The Biden administration was behind not only the record amounts of illegal aliens flooding across our border, but over 300,000 unaccompanied children who are now unaccounted for.
“Nobody knows where they are. Nobody can find them,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered” tells Ali Hopper and Dr. Jarrod Sadulski, founders of GUARD Against Trafficking.
“This shows the crisis that the Biden-Harris administration created,” Sadulski says. “Since the inauguration, Homeland Security Investigations has conducted an investigation — a well-being check — on 100,000 of the 324,000 that were reported as unaccounted for. Out of that, they could only locate 5,000, which means 95,000 children are completely unaccounted for.”
“And there’s nowhere else to look. The information the Biden-Harris regime accepted from sponsors — it’s been discovered that 70% of it was fraudulent,” he adds.
“So, clearly nobody in this administration was going back and double-checking anything, vetting any of these people, any of the information, to make sure that it was actually accurate. They were just like, ‘Here, sign this paper. I don’t really care what you put on it. I’m not going to check it,’” Gonzales responds, shocked.
According to Sadulski, the Biden administration was accepting documentation via text and WhatsApp.
“So, they would accept a driver’s license or a photo ID. They would provide an address. What ORR under the Biden regime would do is check to see through the post office if that’s actually an address, and if so, then the child was sent,” he tells Gonzales.
In one rare case, an actual Office of Refugee Resettlement caseworker went to the recorded address and discovered that the person portraying themselves as the child’s sponsor had visible MS-13 tattoos.
“There were also others in the house that appeared to be gang members. This caseworker reported that to the leadership at the time under the Office of Refugee Resettlement and was overruled,” Sadulski explains.
“That child was sent to this MS-13 member to be found, I believe three months later, with his pants around his ankles, dead, and an adult male next to him passed out,” he adds.
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Ex-NFL linebacker allegedly leaves son, 6, in car to solicit prostitute — then gets arrested in ICE human trafficking sting
Numerous law enforcement agencies teamed up earlier this month in Florida to arrest more than 250 people as part of a human trafficking bust — and one of those arrested is a former NFL linebacker.
Homeland Security — along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, and Lake County Sheriff’s Office — conducted an undercover mission called "Operation Fool Around and Find Out" from May 2 through May 10.
'Obviously he must have hit one too many people as a linebacker, because his brain cells are scrambled.'
Former NFL linebacker Adarius Taylor was arrested during the sting. Police on May 8 allegedly captured Taylor on video discussing sexual behavior with an undercover officer posing as a prostitute.
However, the reported presence of Taylor's 6-year-old son made the situation even worse.
Taylor was alleged to have left his son in the car when he went into the site of the sting operation, and Taylor subsequently was arrested for felony negligent child abuse without bodily harm and misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution charges.
"Obviously he must have hit one too many people as a linebacker, because his brain cells are scrambled," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said about Taylor, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The Florida Department of Children and Families immediately took custody of the child.
In total, 141 people were charged with soliciting prostitutes, 93 were charged with offering to commit prostitution, and another 10 were charged with crimes such as aiding and abetting or transporting prostitutes. Furthermore, an additional 11 suspects were charged with traveling to meet a minor for sex or other child sex crimes.
Four people were identified as possible victims of human trafficking, while 36 of those arrested were illegal immigrants.
Offenders came from states all across the country, including Connecticut, Illinois, and New Jersey, while at least one person came from Brazil.
Sheriff Judd praised ICE and revealed that the Trump administration now allows his department to work alongside the federal agency.
"There's been a change of administration … and now we are allowed to have ICE with us," Judd said. "I can't say enough good about ICE … they are hand in glove with us every day. They have a mission from the president of the United States."
"A word to the wise," Judd warned before commenting on ICE's future operations. "There'll be another one."
Thomas played six seasons for the Panthers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Cleveland Browns.
He finished his career with two sacks, three forced fumbles, one interception, and 144 tackles.
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US attorney announces indictments against 'prophet,' wife for alleged sex trafficking, forced labor in alleged church scheme
A New Jersey couple is facing federal charges over jaw-dropping accusations of sex trafficking, forced labor, and exploiting vulnerable church members under the guise of divine will.
Treva Edwards, 60, and Christine Edwards, 63, were arrested May 7. The couple were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit forced labor. Treva Edwards also was hit with charges of forced labor and sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.
Treva Edwards reportedly subjected one alleged female victim to repeated physical and sexual assaults and impregnated her, after which he ordered her to get an abortion, according to the indictment.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey said in a statement that the husband and wife were the "founders and pastors of a church they named 'Jesus Is Lord by the Holy Ghost,' which they operated out of a multi-unit apartment building in Orange, New Jersey, and where they conspired to coax and coerce vulnerable victims to work with no pay."
Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey — previously an attorney for President Donald Trump — delivered a stern warning to those contemplating committing human trafficking crimes.
"These charges are an example of my office's tireless commitment to combatting human trafficking in our community," Habba proclaimed. "If you engage in human trafficking, we will find you, and we will prosecute you. We are committed to working alongside our partners to ensure that those who target the most vulnerable are brought to justice."
RELATED: Porn has transformed into horror
Between 2011 and 2020, the suspects allegedly preyed on individuals struggling with financial issues, personal problems, or poor family relationships. The couple allegedly urged these individuals to join the church to find salvation.
According to the 10-page indictment, "Treva Edwards allegedly told Victim 1, Victim 2, and others that he was a prophet who could communicate directly with God. According to the indictment, he told members that 'disobeying him would result in spiritual retribution from God, as well as physical, emotional, and financial harm.'"
The suspects allegedly manipulated church members into carrying out grueling labor by telling them that the work was to be done to serve God.
The defendants reportedly compelled the church members to sign contracts to guarantee they would do the assigned work. Christine Edwards reportedly procured the labor contracts through her employment at a New Jersey property management company.
RELATED: 8 arrested on rape, sex trafficking charges in case of 14-year-old girl suffering '25 days of hell'
Some of the labor forced on the church members included "cleaning and gutting commercial and residential properties, shoveling snow, removing bulk trash, moving furniture, cleaning raw sewage, and exterminating rodent infestations," the indictment states.
The couple allegedly threatened the church members that if they failed to do the work, they would "lose favor with God."
Authorities said the couple monitored church members and even regulated when they ate and slept. The pastor and his wife allegedly instructed some members that they were prohibited from leaving the church property, and some were convinced to not talk to non-members because they were allegedly "evil" or "possessed by the devil."
The couple reportedly kept any money the church members earned.
Treva Edwards reportedly discouraged some of the alleged victims from seeking medical treatment and instead told them God would heal them as long as they were in "good standing" with the church.
According to the indictment, Christine Edwards told members of the Jesus Is Lord by the Holy Ghost church that a "successful labor job was evidence of God's will."
The United States Attorney's Office stated, "Treva Edwards spread fear among the victims through verbal and emotional abuse and threats of reputational harm, homelessness, hunger, spiritual retribution, punishments, and more hard labor to gain their obedience and compel them to perform unpaid labor."
Treva Edwards reportedly subjected one alleged female victim to repeated physical and sexual assaults and impregnated her, after which he ordered her to get an abortion, according to the indictment.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said, "The Department of Justice will not tolerate the exploitation of vulnerable individuals under the guise of faith. These charges reflect our unwavering focus on protecting victims and prosecuting those who commit such heinous crimes.”
Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel of Homeland Security Investigations Newark Division said, "Treva and Christine Edwards turned a source of hope into a tool of fear by allegedly exploiting religious faith to manipulate victims and expose them to sexual violence and forced labor conditions."
Blaze News reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office for comment on the disturbing case but did not receive an immediate response.
As Blaze News exclusively reported earlier this month, the nonprofit organization Safe House Project launched an innovative anti-trafficking app to empower users to safely, anonymously, and effectively report instances of suspected human trafficking.
BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey interviewed a former witch who got wrapped up in the dark world of sex cults.
Jac Marino Chen told Stuckey on the "Relatable" podcast that she got involved with cults that practiced "sex magic."
“It was there that Jesus Christ met me in that darkness and saved me,” she told Stuckey.
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Dems' favorite MS-13 associate ran human trafficking operations, says ex-boss
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Robert Garcia (Calif.), Maxwell Frost (Fla.), Yassamin Ansari (Ariz.), and Maxine Dexter (Ore.) are among the Democratic lawmakers who decided to champion the cause of MS-13 associate Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national the Trump administration sent packing on March 15.
Abrego Garcia's illegal entry into the U.S., his failure to appear for hearings on traffic violations, the domestic abuse allegations lodged against him, his links to a terrorist gang, and his identification by two immigration courts as a danger to the community were likely already cause enough to justify his deportation and to question his Democratic defenders' judgment. However, more damning information has come to light.
In the wake of the Tennessee Star's publication of footage showing Abrego Garcia's Nov. 30, 2022, encounter with Tennessee Highway Patrol and confirmation of the Department of Justice's investigation into the traffic stop, ABC News reported that the Salvadoran's boss has outed him as an human trafficker.
The traffic stop
Tennessee Highway Patrol reportedly pulled over Abrego Garcia in November 2022 for driving erratically, which he was reportedly doing without a valid license.
'He's getting paid to haul these people.'
The THP officer surmised from the MS-13 associate's human cargo and lack of luggage that Abrego Garcia — then on a terrorist watch list but not on a deportation list — was engaged in human trafficking.
One officer said in the video obtained by the Tennessee Star, "He's hauling these people for money. You've got an ICE hauler, is what he's doing. Sometimes they come in with dope."
"There's eight people in there," continued the officer. "He's getting paid to haul these people, probably to Maryland, I would say, if I had to guess."
— (@)
Tennessee Highway Patrol notified the Biden FBI, which told the officers to take pictures of Abrego Garcia and his seven passengers, then cut them loose.
While Abrego Garcia got to drive away with just a warning, he did so only after materially and verbally linking himself to a convicted human trafficker.
The black 2001 Chevrolet Silverado that Abrego Garcia was driving was reportedly flagged by the Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore field office as belonging to Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes — an illegal alien from Mexico who Abrego Garcia told a state trooper was his boss.
Hernandez-Reyes pleaded guilty on June 4, 2020, to smuggling illegal aliens. He was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, then deported, though he stole back into the U.S. sometime later and was eventually rearrested.
Abrego Garcia outed
Federal investigators looking into Abrego Garcia's 2022 traffic stop recently spoke with Hernandez-Reyes at the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega, Alabama, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.
Hernandez-Reyes, who was granted limited immunity, told investigators he ran a "taxi service" based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Mexican national reportedly indicated that he met Abrego Garcia in 2015 and hired him on multiple occasions to smuggle illegal aliens from Texas to other places in the country.
Hernandez-Reyes previously told authorities that he would smuggle people throughout the U.S. for $350 per person. In the bodycam footage of the 2022 traffic stop obtained by the Tennessee Star, Abrego Garcia is said to have $1,400 in cash on his person.
ABC News indicated that the DOJ declined to comment.
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