Ex-ICE Officer Got Sex, Bribes From Undocumented Immigrants In West Orange: N.J. Prosecutor

A federal grand jury has indicted a former ICE officer for allegedly accepting cash bribes and sex from an undocumented immigrant employed at a West Orange hair salon that he owned, authorities announced on Monday.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office (NJ), Arnaldo Echevarria, 38, of Somerset - a former deportation officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – has been charged with seven counts of accepting bribes, one count of harboring an undocumented immigrant and one count of making false statements to immigration authorities.

According to court documents, while employed as a deportation officer, Echevarria was responsible for enforcing immigration and customs laws by identifying, locating, arresting and removing undocumented immigrants from the United States.

As part of his duties, Echevarria supervised certain undocumented immigrants who had not yet been deported, prosecutors stated.

Between 2012 and 2014, Echevarria agreed to obtain employment authorization documents for approximately seven undocumented immigrants, prosecutors allege.

In return, Echevarria allegedly demanded and received approximately $78,000 in cash bribes, authorities stated.

Prosecutors allege that in order to conceal the immigrants’ identities from authorities, Echevarria falsely stated that they had been granted temporary protected status, which allows nationals from certain countries experiencing environmental disaster, ongoing armed conflict, or other extraordinary conditions to lawfully remain in the United States.

None of the individuals who bribed Echevarria had actually applied for, or received, temporary protected status, authorities stated.

In addition to the cash bribes, Echevarria also allegedly demanded and received sex from two of the individuals, one of whom became pregnant with Echevarria’s child. Despite Echevarria encouraging her to have an abortion, the woman delivered the child, and Echevarria told her that no one could find out that he was the child’s father, prosecutors allege.

Afterwards, Echevarria allegedly continued to have sex with the woman in exchange for his help with her employment authorization documents, authorities charge.

In December of 2012, Echevarria received permission from his superiors at ICE to open a hair salon in West Orange. Echevarria certified to ICE that the hair salon would not conflict with ICE matters and would not involve undocumented workers.

However, Echevarria allegedly employed his girlfriend at the time - an undocumented immigrant - to manage the salon, authorities stated.

According to prosecutors, Echevarria’s girlfriend allegedly entered the United States by using the name and identification of a Puerto Rico resident to obtain a Pennsylvania identification card.

Prosecutors stated that Echevarria allegedly knew his girlfriend resided in the United States without the proper documentation, and that prior to opening the hair salon, Echevarria queried the name and date of birth of his girlfriend’s alias in various law enforcement databases.

After opening the salon, Echevarria allegedly ensured that his girlfriend’s immigration status remained a secret by signing the lease for her apartment and by placing her cable and electric bills in his name.

In addition to driving his girlfriend and other employees to and from the salon each day, Echevarria also allegedly paid the employees in cash and never asked them to fill out employment eligibility paperwork, authorities stated.

Echevarria will be arraigned in federal court on a date to be determined, authorities reported.

He was originally charged by complaint in April of 2015.