Candelaria Pedro Raymundo/Guatemala/Human Trafficking

Candelaria Pedro Raymundo, a Guatemala national living in the country illegally, was taken into custody by ICE agents in Dawson, Nebraska, on charges of human trafficking.

Drug trafficking and distribution charges carry mandatory minimum sentences in the federal system and are treated as priority enforcement matters by both state and federal law enforcement. For illegal aliens, a trafficking arrest also triggers an automatic immigration removal proceeding that moves forward independently of the criminal case. Raymundo’s case is expected to proceed simultaneously in both criminal and immigration courts.

Following the arrest, Raymundo was transferred to federal immigration detention. Removal proceedings before a Department of Justice immigration judge are pending, with Guatemala as the country of removal.