Portland Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Attempting to Bribe Ice Deportation Officer

PORTLAND, Ore.—Antonio Oswaldo Burgos, 48, of Portland, was sentenced today to four months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for attempting to bribe a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation officer.

According to court documents, on May 24, 2018, Burgos followed an ICE deportation officer in his vehicle from the ICE office in Portland until the officer stopped in a parking lot in Vancouver, Washington. The defendant offered the officer money to deport his wife who he had met in El Salvador and was in the process of divorcing. The officer declined Burgos’ offer and reported the event to the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

On May 31, 2018, the officer made a recorded call to Burgos with the assistance of an OPR investigation team. Burgos offered to the pay the officer $3,000 to remove his wife from the U.S. On June 5, 2018, the officer and OPR team made a second recorded call on which Burgos again offered to pay the officer for his wife’s removal. Burgos and the officer proceeded to discuss logistics for an in-person meeting.

On June 6, 2018, Burgos met the officer in a pre-determined location and offered to pay $4,000 for the removal of his wife and his wife’s minor child from a previous relationship.

On November 20, 2018, Burgos pleaded guilty to one count of bribery of a public official.

This case was jointly investigated by ICE OPR and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Rachel K. Sowray and Claire M. Fay, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.