Latest news with #LabradorSierra
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ohio High Schooler Was Actually 24-Year-Old Man Who Overstayed Visa: Police
A 24-year-old Venezuelan man is accused of fraudulently enrolling himself in an Ohio high school as a 16-year-old, which allowed him to stay in the U.S. undetected for over a year until a woman came forward last week, contending that he is the father of her child. Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra was arrested near Toledo on forgery charges Monday and also faces a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement after allegedly overstaying a work visa that expired in 2023, local and federal authorities said. According to police records, Labrador Sierra enrolled himself in Perrysburg High School in late 2023 using a fake birth certificate that listed him as born in Venezuela as Anthony Labrador on Dec. 2, 2007. He allegedly told school officials that he was unhoused and trafficked into the U.S. Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, passed in 1987, public schools are required to enroll unaccompanied minors without standard enrollment paperwork. He was taken in by a local couple, known for adopting and housing exchange students, who helped him legally obtain an Ohio driver's license and a Social Security card, according to a Perrysburg Police Division incident report obtained by HuffPost. Over the next 16 months, Labrador Sierra attended classes and participated in extracurricular activities, including junior varsity soccer and swimming. He also obtained Temporary Protective Status through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services using a fraudulent birth certificate, Perrysburg Schools said in a statement. 'Our school district—along with state and federal agencies—were misled by an intentional act of fraud,' the school system said. It wasn't until last week, May 14, that a 22-year-old Toledo woman came forward, identifying Labrador Sierra to his local guardians as a 24-year-old man and the father of her child, police said. The woman allegedly shared a photo of an Ohio driver's license and Social Security card showing Labrador Sierra's full name and a birthday of March 27, 2001. She also shared photos from Facebook showing her with him and a small child. Labrador Sierra's guardians immediately alerted his school about the fraud allegations, and the next day, school officials said they confronted him about it. He denied the allegations but was still directed to stay off school property until a district review, the school system said. Later, police said the school system provided authorities with pictures of several Facebook posts by a woman who identified herself as Labrador Sierra's mother. The woman on March 27 posted a photo of him wearing a Perrysburg soccer uniform and wished him a happy birthday. Further investigation found that a vehicle Labrador Sierra owned was registered to Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra under his old Ohio driver's license. Border Patrol accused that same individual of overstaying his work visa in 2023, the same year that he enrolled in the local high school, police said. He was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Monday. Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, celebrated Labrador Sierra's arrest and detainer in a statement, claiming he is 'no longer able to prey on the students of Perrysburg High School.' A police spokesperson told HuffPost on Thursday that the incident remains under investigation. It was not immediately clear whether Labrador Sierra had an attorney. Kid Rock Distances Himself From Nashville Restaurant After It Reportedly Dodged ICE Raid Democratic Rep. McIver Charged With Assault After Skirmish At ICE Center, New Jersey Prosecutor Says Trump Plans To Yank Officers From Ports And Borders To Help Juice Deportation Numbers Stop Comparing ICE To The Gestapo, Homeland Security Says
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
ICE to detain Venezuelan national who allegedly posed as Ohio student
PERRYSBURG, Ohio (WJW) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a detainment order for a Venezuelan national who allegedly posed as an Ohio high school student. Anthony E. Labrador Sierra, 24, is facing a felony charge of forgery in Wood County after authorities said he pretended to be a high school student for over a year in Perrysburg. He even played on two sports teams. WATCH: Police arrest 24-year-old accused of posing as Ohio high school studen The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday identified him as a Venezuelan national who's been in the United States illegally since March 24, 2020. Labrador Sierra attended Perrysburg High School for a year and a half. Police said a few years ago, he told the school he was a homeless 16-year-old. He claimed he was a victim of human trafficking and wanted to become a student there. Police said his work visa expired in 2023, and that's the same year he reached out to Perrysburg Schools to enroll. Horror museum featuring haunted objects, 'last meal' restaurant coming to Ohio On Tuesday, the Perrysburg Police Department arrested and charged Labrador Sierra with forgery. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Fraud investigation into Venezuelan man accused of posing as teen at Ohio high school is ‘tip of the iceberg,' says police chief
PERRYSBURG, Ohio (WJW) — Authorities investigating a 24-year-old non-citizen accused of posing as a teenager to enroll at an Ohio high school said what they've learned about the case so far appears to be 'just the tip of the iceberg.' Perrysburg Police Chief Pat Jones told FOX 8 News on Wednesday that a big part of the department's investigation is now focused on interactions the man may have had with minor students while attending the school, where his alleged deception went undetected by local, state and federal agencies for more than a year and a half. Local humane agents give health update on puppy that was brutally stabbed 'We're kind of taking a very deliberate deep dive into everything. This is a unique case. We haven't seen anything like this before,' Jones said. 'Obviously, one of our concerns is we have a 24-year-old man who is in school with teenagers. We're looking at what type of interactions were there and what type of relations were formed,' he continued. 'We're trying to talk to different students and see what information we have. There are a lot of rumors around, so we have to figure out what's fact or fiction.' Federal immigration authorities and the FBI are now involved, as numerous questions abound, like how the man appears to have obtained two Ohio driver's licenses — one of a type given to residents under 18, and another given to adults, each with a different birth date, Jones said. A state lawmaker who lives in the school district on Wednesday called it a 'deeply troubling breakdown of safeguards' against this kind of fraud. He said he's now seeking answers from state public safety and federal immigration officials. Anthony E. Labrador Sierra, arrested by city police on Monday, is a 24-year-old Venezuelan national who's been in the United States illegally since March 24, 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The department announced Wednesday that U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has ordered him to be detained. Perrysburg Schools Superintendent Tom Hosler, in a Wednesday update to district families, said Labrador Sierra 'went to extraordinary lengths to conceal his identity,' using forged documents to obtain an Ohio driver's license and a Social Security number and working with immigration attorneys to receive Temporary Protected Status through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A previous police report states his work visa expired in 2023. That's when he enrolled at Perrysburg High School, claiming to be homeless. The Wood County Juvenile Court placed him in guardianship with a local family. Labrador Sierra worked with immigration attorneys to get Temporary Protected Status, which was granted through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Labrador Sierra reportedly told the school he had been a victim of human trafficking when enrolling at the high school, claiming to be a homeless 16-year-old. 'What's most heartbreaking is how our staff and community responded to a young person who said he was in need — with compassion. They believed they were helping a child who had suffered trauma,' Hosler wrote on Wednesday. 'That trust was broken — but how we responded says everything about who we are.' Labrador Sierra was enrolled in the school district from Jan. 11, 2024, to May 14, 2025. That's when the school district began questioning the man's identity, after a woman contacted his guardian family, claiming he was not a teenager and was actually an adult and the father of her child, according to police. School officials investigated social media posts from people claiming to be his family members. They then contacted Perrysburg police, leading to his arrest on Monday, May 19. 'That's crazy': Struggling CMSD sent kids to Disney World, I-Team learns Hosler said Wednesday that a decades-old federal law ensuring children experiencing homelessness are granted a public education requires schools to bypass the usual paperwork when enrolling unaccompanied minors, like Labrador Sierra claimed to be. The district sought out his birth certificate, even though it wasn't required to, Hosler said. They also located his former school, which he claimed to have attended in Venezuela, and found it had closed. 'I want to emphasize this: Immediately upon learning that this student may have concealed his identity and misled us, we acted. We met with the student and he was then not permitted on any school property while we investigated. Very shortly after, we contacted law enforcement,' Hosler said. 'Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our students. When we learn of a concerning situation, we act.' The school district has enrolled more than 100 international students over the last three years, said Hosler, and its cases are often complex. In Labrador Sierra's case, the district's attorneys assured school officials were following the law. The man even played on the school's JV soccer and swim teams, according to the school district. That was reported to the Ohio High School Athletics Association. In a statement to FOX 8 News on Wednesday, the association said the school 'had no way of knowing/combating this falsification.' Labrador Sierra's birth certificate, now believed to be fake, is what landed him in the Wood County jail on Monday on a felony count of forgery, Jones said. But there's much more ground to cover in the criminal investigation, he said. 'We believe that's just the tip of the iceberg,' he said. Jones added the police department hasn't received any direct reports of misconduct involving Labrador Sierra. 'I get goosebumps when I hear that my 16-year-old daughter could be in the same class as a 24-year-old man,' said immigration attorney Margaret Wong, speaking to FOX 8 News on Wednesday. County, city withdraw from several GCP committee meetings after group endorses proposed Brook Park stadium State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari (R-Perrysburg), who resides in the school district, said he's heard his neighbors' concerns and he now has several questions for state public safety and federal immigration officials. 'I'm asking myself what anyone else is asking: How did this happen?' Ghanbari told FOX 8 News by phone on Wednesday. 'I'm not laying the blame for this at the school — I'm saying this is a systematic failure at the state, local and federal levels.' He said he penned a letter to Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson questioning procedures to verify documents used to obtain Ohio identification cards — particularly for non-citizens seeking asylum or Temporary Protected Status. The department told him a response would be forthcoming, he said. Ghanbari also said he wonders whether the federal government's new REAL IDs, which became required for air travel earlier this month, could also be spoofed in this way by fraudsters. He issued a statement on Tuesday that read: If these allegations are verified, they reveal a deeply troubling breakdown in safeguards — locally, statewide and federally. The ability of an adult to embed himself in a public high school, under false pretenses and with apparent access to official documentation and legal support, demands immediate and thorough scrutiny. Let me be unequivocally clear: the safety and well-being of our students and the wider community is our top priority. I commend those who identified and reported this situation to school officials, and I applaud the swift, decisive actions taken by law enforcement to protect our students. The Perrysburg School District should continue to cooperate fully with all relevant authorities and support the ongoing investigation in every way possible. Additionally, this requires a careful review of their internal protocols to take every necessary step to ensure our schools remain safe, secure, and worthy of the trust our families place in them. Furthermore, I am calling upon federal immigration and law enforcement agencies to conduct a full and transparent investigation into how Mr. Labrador Sierra was able to enter the United States, acquire federal and state documentation, and gain access to public education under false pretenses. This case highlights a critical need for enhanced collaboration between local and federal law agencies to prevent similar incidents in the future and to ensure the integrity of our borders and our institutions. State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari (R-Perrysburg) The school district has made counselors available to students who want to talk about the incident, said Hosler. The district also urged parents to speak with their children and encourage them to share their feelings about it. Anyone with information regarding Labrador Sierra can call Perrysburg police at 419-872-8001. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
A 24-year-old Venezuelan man posed as a teenage homeless migrant and forged documents to enroll at an Ohio high school, officials say
A 24-year-old man was arrested Monday for allegedly forging documents to enroll in an Ohio high school, where he studied for over a year before the identity fraud was discovered, authorities said. Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra enrolled at Perrysburg High School in January 2024 with a Venezuelan birth certificate showing he was 16 years old, claiming he was a homeless migrant who had been trafficked into the country, according to a Perrysburg Police Division incident report. Labrador Sierra started at the school and was eventually placed with a local family who had previously hosted exchange students, according to the police report. The host family was granted temporary and later permanent guardianship of Labrador Sierra in 2024, and they helped him with obtaining a social security number and driver's license while he was in their custody, according to the police report. He also used forged documents to obtain federal Temporary Protective Status (TPS) from US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Perrysburg Schools said in a statement. Migrants under TPS humanitarian relief are protected from being removed from the country or detained based on their immigration status, and may obtain legal employment, according to the USCIS website. Labrador Sierra's identity first came into question on May 14, when a woman contacted the guardian family and told them he was actually a 24-year-old man and the father of her child, police said. She sent them several photos: a driver's license and social security card with Labrador Sierra's name and a March 27, 2001, birth date; and several from Facebook showing her and Labrador Sierra, along with Labrador Sierra with a child. The guardians contacted the school district that evening, according to Perrysburg Schools. Administrators met with Labrador Sierra the following day and 'he denied the allegation and asserted that the birth certificate submitted during enrollment - which indicates he is currently 17 years old - was accurate,' the school's statement says. CNN has reached out to an attorney for Labrador Sierra for comment. 'Given the seriousness of the claim, Perrysburg Schools immediately directed the guardians to keep Labrador off school property while the matter was investigated further,' the school district said. During the course of the investigation, the district said it 'found social media posts by others, including those claiming to be Labrador Sierra's family.' Police said those posts include several from a Zulay Sierra, whom they believe to be Labrador Sierra's mother based on the birth certificate he provided to the school district. One of the posts she shared shows Labrador Sierra wearing a Perrysburg soccer uniform with the caption 'Happy birthday son,' according to police. It was dated March 27 – matching the birth date on the picture of the driver's license that the woman had sent the guardians, according to the police report. Police reached out to US Customs and Border Patrol and were told Labrador Sierra 'had an expired work visa and that he was considered an overstay in this country,' according to the police report. CBP told police his visa had expired in 2023, the year he reached out to enroll in high school, police said. The Perrysburg Township Police arrested Labrador Monday during a traffic stop on a forgery warrant. He was riding in the passenger seat of the car driven by the woman who had exposed his identity to his guardian family, according to the police report. CNN has reached out to the guardian family and the woman who contacted them for comment. Labrador Sierra was arraigned Tuesday, court records show. He pleaded not guilty to a forgery charge, a fifth-degree felony. His bond was set at $50,000, and his next court date is scheduled for May 29. He may soon be facing federal charges as well, according to US Customs and Border Protection. 'Labrador is an illegal alien who overstayed his visa and has no legal status. US Border Patrol placed an immigration detainer on him with the local police department,' a CBP spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. 'Federal charges are being pursued.' Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement confirming Labrador Sierra is from Venezuela and calling his actions 'disturbing.' McLaughlin said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, also lodged a detainer against him. The school district called the situation 'highly unusual,' but added that it 'is confident proper legal channels were followed to provide support for an individual presenting themselves as an unaccompanied minor…' CNN's Hanna Park contributed to this report.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Examining Perrysburg Schools' identity fraud case through a legal lens
PERRYSBURG, Ohio (WJW) — Perrysburg Local Schools said it is conducting a full investigation into a highly deceptive and unusual case where a 24-year-old migrant from Venezuela enrolled at the high school using fraudulent documents and false pretenses. Many in the community are left wondering: how did this happen? Anthony Labrador Sierra, 24, is accused of posing as a 16-year-old high school student. Immigration attorney Margaret Wong weighed in on the legal implications. 'I get goosebumps when I hear that my 16-year-old daughter could be in the same class as a 24-year-old man,' Wong said. Labrador Sierra, a Venezuelan national, is accused of falsifying documents to enroll at Perrysburg High School. Authorities said he claimed to be an unaccompanied minor experiencing homelessness. WATCH: Police arrest 24-year-old accused of posing as Ohio high school student The district said it followed federal and state requirements under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which mandates enrollment for students experiencing homelessness or without a legal guardian. Wong said the school was operating with the right intentions. 'I sort of feel bad for the school because I think now the school is sending out media releases saying it's not their fault,' she said. 'Of course it's not their fault. If someone lies to them — and it's such a small, beautiful, welcoming town — I think we shouldn't blame the school. We should ask what kind of people come to America and do that.' Labrador Sierra participated in the junior varsity soccer and swim teams, which raises concerns about an unfair competitive advantage due to his age. The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) issued a statement: 'Thanks again for your communication and transparency on this issue. After a review, Perrysburg HS took all appropriate actions to verify this person's information, and even inquired/communicated with our office back in the fall, in order to determine their athletic eligibility. As your Superintendent indicated, this case involves highly unusual and deceptive circumstances that impacted many local, state and federal agencies, and your school had no way of knowing/combating this falsification. As such, there are no penalties or forfeitures which will be required of your sports teams on which this individual played. 'Also, I know this person will not be coming back to any school, but his eligibility has been revoked under Bylaw 4-1-2, Falsification. 'Thanks again for your efforts, and let me know if you have any follow up questions.' Wong also noted that the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the Trump administration's decision to strip legal protections from approximately 350,000 Venezuelans. Former New York state trooper pleads guilty to faking his own shooting Labrador Sierra was taken into custody at the Wood County jail and faces felony forgery charges. The Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer for Labrador Sierra. 'Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra is a 24-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela who has been posing as teenager and attending Perrysburg High School in Ohio,' DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. 'Labrador was arrested and charged with forgery by the Perrysburg Ohio Police Department on May 19 for using fake documents to become enrolled in the high school. ICE lodged a detainer to ensure that this criminal illegal alien is removed from this community and no longer able to prey on the students of Perrysburg High School. It is disturbing that a grown man would impersonate a teenager and infiltrate the lives of underage girls and boys to fool them into doing God knows what.' Wong believes he will face prosecution in Wood County before any immigration proceedings take place — especially if additional charges emerge. 'Immigration should immediately issue a Notice to Appear,' she said. 'Actually, don't even issue a Notice to Appear — I would just deport him right away. I know it sounds harsh, and I'm a foreign-born immigrant myself. But on the other hand, is deportation punishment enough?' Wong called the case an extreme violation of trust and kindness. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
