Venezuelan Man Is Arrested After Posing as a High School Student in Ohio
A 24-year-old Venezuelan man suspected of using forged documents to claim to be a teenager and enroll as a student at an Ohio high school was arrested on Monday, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra was charged with forgery and later detained by the police in Perrysburg, Ohio, which said that he had been living in the United States illegally since March 24, 2020.
Mr. Labrador-Sierra enrolled in January 2024 at Perrysburg High School in the city, which is about 10 miles southwest of Toledo, presenting himself as a 16-year-old student 'experiencing homelessness or without a legal guardian,' according to a statement from the school district.
The court system granted guardianship of Mr. Labrador-Sierra to a local family based on documents he had provided, the school district said.
More than a year later, on May 14, his guardians, who have not been publicly identified, alerted school officials that they believed Mr. Labrador-Sierra was not a teenager but a 24-year-old adult. The district asked the guardians to keep him from returning to school during an investigation into the discrepancy, school officials said.
The next day, school administrators met with Mr. Labrador-Sierra to discuss the concerns. According to the district's statement, he denied the allegations and maintained that the documents he had provided, including a birth certificate showing him as now 17, were valid.
It was unclear if Mr. Labrador-Sierra had pleaded in the case and if he had any legal representation. He was being held at the local jail in Wood County, Ohio, the police said.
Tom Hosler, superintendent of the Perrysburg Schools, said in a statement posted on the school's website that Mr. Labrador-Sierra went to 'extraordinary lengths to conceal his identity — using forged documents to obtain a social security number, an Ohio driver's license, temporary protective status and even legal guardianship.'
'Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our students,' Mr. Hosler said in the statement. 'When we learn of a concerning situation, we act.'
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of the Homeland Security Department, has lodged a detainer, a notice that it seeks to pick up Mr. Labrador-Sierra from custody, according to a statement from Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the department.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
With its shoot-first style, Trump team often shoots itself in the foot
A telling moment early in President Donald Trump's second term foreshadowed how the administration is often now operating. Appearing at a Cabinet meeting in late February, Elon Musk said the Department of Government Efficiency had 'accidentally canceled' Ebola prevention programs. 'We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect. But when we make a mistake, we'll fix it very quickly,' Musk said. 'So we restored the Ebola prevention immediately. And there was no interruption.' It wasn't the first time Musk – who has since left the government – had acknowledged he and his team would make mistakes. But it was especially striking given the subject matter. Ebola prevention is literally a matter of life and death, but Musk mentioned it off-hand as if it were just some anecdote about DOGE's growing pains. (Musk's claim that there was 'no interruption' has also been called into question.) In the months since, though, that attitude has become emblematic of the Trump administration's approach to the country's business. Over and over again, it has employed shoot-first mentality with its public pronouncements and actions. Sometimes, that has meant it shot itself in the foot. And sometimes it has wound up contradicting itself. Four examples in recent days drive this home. One of them involves Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Last week, Noem claimed on X that an undocumented immigrant had 'threatened to assassinate President Trump.' The Department of Homeland Security even put out a news release naming the man. Except the claim quickly fell apart. CNN's Whitney Wild and Holmes Lybrand soon reported that authorities believed the immigrant had been set up – and that they had been investigating that possibility even before Noem's social media post. Now Wisconsin state prosecutors have charged another man, who they say admitted to orchestrating the ruse. And a DHS official conceded Wednesday that the man whom Noem and DHS accused is no longer under investigation for the purported threat. (A judge earlier in the day had delayed immigration proceedings.) Despite extensive coverage, neither Noem's post nor the DHS news release were removed or retracted as of Wednesday. Another example Wednesday involved a Guatemalan national who says he was wrongfully deported to Mexico returning to the US, his legal team told CNN – in what appears to be the first instance of the administration bringing back a migrant as a result of a judge's order. The situation stems from the administration's hasty deportation efforts, which have led to questions about whether the wrong people were deported. In at least three cases, judges have ruled that's exactly what happened, including two in which the migrants were sent to a brutal El Salvador prison. The administration has resisted returning the latter two migrants. A third example involves a somewhat similar case to the Noem example. Interim US attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba last month announced charges against Newark Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka for his actions at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility. Habba said Baraka had 'committed trespass' and 'has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.' But Habba later announced the charges against Baraka would be dropped 'for the sake of moving forward,' while announcing new charges against a Democratic congresswoman from the Garden State. A magistrate judge issued a strong rebuke, calling the original charge against Baraka a 'a worrisome misstep by your office' and suggested Habba might have been motivated by 'political agendas.' 'An arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool,' the judge said, calling it 'a severe action, carrying significant reputational and personal consequences.' And Baraka, who's running in next week's gubernatorial primary, is now seizing on that alleged damage to his reputation. On Tuesday he filed suit against Habba, accusing her of false arrest, malicious prosecution and defamation. The other recent example regards the Covid-19 vaccine. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week made a major announcement. He said – also on X – that 'the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from @CDCgov recommended immunization schedule.' But just two days later, when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance, the vaccine was not, in fact, removed from the childhood schedule. It instead was listed under a slightly different designation – recommended based on 'shared clinical decision-making.' In other words, children would still be able to get the shot after consulting with a health care provider. HHS claimed this was not a contradiction, and said on X that the vaccine 'is not recommended for healthy children.' But on the CDC's website, the vaccine is still coded as a 'Recommended vaccination based on shared clinical decision-making.' These are only the most recent examples of statements and actions that have struggled with age: The DOGE effort has involved laying off or firing lots of people, some of whom the administration then sought to rehire because they needed them, and some of whom courts have instructed the administration to keep or rehire because of legal questions. Trump and a number of top administration officials last month leapt to accuse former FBI Director James Comey of threatening to assassinate Trump by posting an Instagram image of shells that spelled out '86 47.' Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Comey should be jailed. Despite the rhetoric, there is little sign of impending charges against Comey. Comey said he doesn't expect to be charged. And even if Comey had been referring to assassination – which it's not at all clear he was – it's quite possible that speech was First Amendment-protected. Trump has justified his rapid deportations of Venezuelan migrants by arguing that they are members of a gang, Tren de Aragua, that is acting 'directly and at the direction … of the [Nicolás] Maduro regime in Venezuela.' But The New York Times has reported that a US intelligence report undermined that claim. And plenty of reporting suggests the administration has worked to obscure that fact. (ODNI declined to comment to the Times.) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed he didn't share 'war plans' while discussing strikes in Yemen on the unclassified Signal app with other top administration officials – right before The Atlantic published the texts showing detailed plans for the strikes. The White House offered a lengthy series of conflicting signals about whether it viewed Trump's tariffs as a negotiating tool, before ultimately pushing for a bunch of deals. So what does this all reveal? Some of it is just a reflection of a president with a demonstrated disregard for the truth (see: 30,000-plus false and misleading statements in his first term) and rhetorical consistency. Under Trump's bare-knuckle brand of politics, you can say pretty much anything or level any wild accusation and then, when that doesn't pan out, you just move on to the next provocation. It also seems to be a reflection of the kinds of people he's picked to lead the government. Many of these people don't have anywhere near the kinds of experience of those who usually hold their positions; among their chief qualifications was loyalty to Trump and willingness to do his bidding. But also, these are people whose credibility matters, and their words have consequences. Law enforcement generally isn't supposed to accuse people of things it doesn't intend to prove in court, because those people can be impugned by the mere allegations. It's quite likely that people who would consider the Covid-19 vaccine for their children are confused by the conflicting signals from HHS. Statements about tariff plans – and their staying power – have real-world impacts when it comes to long-term planning for American businesses. If you're a business, do you actually try to move manufacturing to the United States (assuming the tariffs will stay) or just wait things out (hoping they go away)? And talking about massaging US intelligence to fit a political narrative is, as recent history makes clear, an extremely fraught enterprise. But all indications are that this fast-and-loose style is going nowhere.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Analysis: With its shoot-first style, Trump team often shoots itself in the foot
A telling moment early in President Donald Trump's second term foreshadowed how the administration is often now operating. Appearing at a Cabinet meeting in late February, Elon Musk said the Department of Government Efficiency had 'accidentally canceled' Ebola prevention programs. 'We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect. But when we make a mistake, we'll fix it very quickly,' Musk said. 'So we restored the Ebola prevention immediately. And there was no interruption.' It wasn't the first time Musk – who has since left the government – had acknowledged he and his team would make mistakes. But it was especially striking given the subject matter. Ebola prevention is literally a matter of life and death, but Musk mentioned it off-hand as if it were just some anecdote about DOGE's growing pains. (Musk's claim that there was 'no interruption' has also been called into question.) In the months since, though, that attitude has become emblematic of the Trump administration's approach to the country's business. Over and over again, it has employed shoot-first mentality with its public pronouncements and actions. Sometimes, that has meant it shot itself in the foot. And sometimes it has wound up contradicting itself. Four examples in recent days drive this home. One of them involves Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Last week, Noem claimed on X that an undocumented immigrant had 'threatened to assassinate President Trump.' The Department of Homeland Security even put out a news release naming the man. Except the claim quickly fell apart. CNN's Whitney Wild and Holmes Lybrand soon reported that authorities believed the immigrant had been set up – and that they had been investigating that possibility even before Noem's social media post. Now Wisconsin state prosecutors have charged another man, who they say admitted to orchestrating the ruse. And a DHS official conceded Wednesday that the man whom Noem and DHS accused is no longer under investigation for the purported threat. (A judge earlier in the day had delayed immigration proceedings.) Despite extensive coverage, neither Noem's post nor the DHS news release were removed or retracted as of Wednesday. Another example Wednesday involved a Guatemalan national who says he was wrongfully deported to Mexico returning to the US, his legal team told CNN – in what appears to be the first instance of the administration bringing back a migrant as a result of a judge's order. The situation stems from the administration's hasty deportation efforts, which have led to questions about whether the wrong people were deported. In at least three cases, judges have ruled that's exactly what happened, including two in which the migrants were sent to a brutal El Salvador prison. The administration has resisted returning the latter two migrants. A third example involves a somewhat similar case to the Noem example. Interim US attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba last month announced charges against Newark Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka for his actions at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility. Habba said Baraka had 'committed trespass' and 'has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.' But Habba later announced the charges against Baraka would be dropped 'for the sake of moving forward,' while announcing new charges against a Democratic congresswoman from the Garden State. A magistrate judge issued a strong rebuke, calling the original charge against Baraka a 'a worrisome misstep by your office' and suggested Habba might have been motivated by 'political agendas.' 'An arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool,' the judge said, calling it 'a severe action, carrying significant reputational and personal consequences.' And Baraka, who's running in next week's gubernatorial primary, is now seizing on that alleged damage to his reputation. On Tuesday he filed suit against Habba, accusing her of false arrest, malicious prosecution and defamation. The other recent example regards the Covid-19 vaccine. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week made a major announcement. He said – also on X – that 'the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from @CDCgov recommended immunization schedule.' But just two days later, when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance, the vaccine was not, in fact, removed from the childhood schedule. It instead was listed under a slightly different designation – recommended based on 'shared clinical decision-making.' In other words, children would still be able to get the shot after consulting with a health care provider. HHS claimed this was not a contradiction, and said on X that the vaccine 'is not recommended for healthy children.' But on the CDC's website, the vaccine is still coded as a 'Recommended vaccination based on shared clinical decision-making.' These are only the most recent examples of statements and actions that have struggled with age: The DOGE effort has involved laying off or firing lots of people, some of whom the administration then sought to rehire because they needed them, and some of whom courts have instructed the administration to keep or rehire because of legal questions. Trump and a number of top administration officials last month leapt to accuse former FBI Director James Comey of threatening to assassinate Trump by posting an Instagram image of shells that spelled out '86 47.' Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Comey should be jailed. Despite the rhetoric, there is little sign of impending charges against Comey. Comey said he doesn't expect to be charged. And even if Comey had been referring to assassination – which it's not at all clear he was – it's quite possible that speech was First Amendment-protected. Trump has justified his rapid deportations of Venezuelan migrants by arguing that they are members of a gang, Tren de Aragua, that is acting 'directly and at the direction … of the [Nicolás] Maduro regime in Venezuela.' But The New York Times has reported that a US intelligence report undermined that claim. And plenty of reporting suggests the administration has worked to obscure that fact. (ODNI declined to comment to the Times.) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed he didn't share 'war plans' while discussing strikes in Yemen on the unclassified Signal app with other top administration officials – right before The Atlantic published the texts showing detailed plans for the strikes. The White House offered a lengthy series of conflicting signals about whether it viewed Trump's tariffs as a negotiating tool, before ultimately pushing for a bunch of deals. So what does this all reveal? Some of it is just a reflection of a president with a demonstrated disregard for the truth (see: 30,000-plus false and misleading statements in his first term) and rhetorical consistency. Under Trump's bare-knuckle brand of politics, you can say pretty much anything or level any wild accusation and then, when that doesn't pan out, you just move on to the next provocation. It also seems to be a reflection of the kinds of people he's picked to lead the government. Many of these people don't have anywhere near the kinds of experience of those who usually hold their positions; among their chief qualifications was loyalty to Trump and willingness to do his bidding. But also, these are people whose credibility matters, and their words have consequences. Law enforcement generally isn't supposed to accuse people of things it doesn't intend to prove in court, because those people can be impugned by the mere allegations. It's quite likely that people who would consider the Covid-19 vaccine for their children are confused by the conflicting signals from HHS. Statements about tariff plans – and their staying power – have real-world impacts when it comes to long-term planning for American businesses. If you're a business, do you actually try to move manufacturing to the United States (assuming the tariffs will stay) or just wait things out (hoping they go away)? And talking about massaging US intelligence to fit a political narrative is, as recent history makes clear, an extremely fraught enterprise. But all indications are that this fast-and-loose style is going nowhere.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Chicago trade school students blindsided as federal Job Corps cuts shut school down
Hundreds of students in the Chicago area are not sure where to turn after the federal government pulled funding for their trade school, which is now closing at the end of the month. Students at the Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center, 3348 S. Kedzie Ave., said they were blindsided by the decision. Job Corps is a free program for thousands of low-income students across the country who will be affected. Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it would suspend operations at its 99 Job Corps centers due to budget constraints. Thus, students at the Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center were seen packing their bags and moving out of their student housing Wednesday afternoon. But it was not because of summer vacation. "It's hard to get opportunities like this," said Charles Wright. Wright and Areeya McNeil are on the school's student government association. They said they came to the Job Corps trade school to get a job with a free education. "I was looking for a change in my life. I wanted to become something better," said McNeil. "I heard about Job Corps, and I signed up." Now they, along with 25,000 students across the country, are losing their housing, education, and career training due to what the federal government calls a "phased pause" in the Job Corps program. "This came out of the blue. We were actually on our first SGA field trip, and we got the news," said McNeil, "and it just hit us — like, we're closing? We're not even done yet." It was last week when the U.S. Department of Labor announced the shutdown of the 99 Job Corps centers across the country — which includes locations in Chicago and Joliet. The department said the decision aligns with President Trump's 2026 budget. The department added that in 2024, the program was in a $140 million deficit, and is expected to cost another $213 million this year. The federal government added that the program has had thousands of serious incident reports — including sexual assaults, drug use, and violence. The Department of Labor said while the pause goes into effect on June 30, there is no hard deadline for students to move out. They say each center to should support the students with that process. "Since we're closing down, I might like go to a shelter and finish college there," said McNeil. "We'll see." McNeil and Wright are two of the 2.2 million people whom Job Corps said it has helped since the program started. They do not want to leave the 33-acre Paul Simon Chicago campus off the Stevenson Expressway. "We have no control over the situation and things like that, and it's really unfair," said Wright. McNeil and Wright said they are using what they have learned so far to try to land a job. Meanwhile, Job Corps said it is suing the Department of Labor.
