ICE: Guatemalan worker in Salem illegally

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. Marshals have a Guatemalan man in custody who Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents claim entered the country illegally.

Salem police alerted ICE to a man named Miguel Lorenzo who worked at a meat-processing plant in Salem because he did not provide them with a Social Security number.

Police picked up Lorenzo on a warrant Jan. 23 for failure to appear at a hearing for a 2016 misdemeanor charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Lorenzo told an ICE agent he is not a citizen and walked across the U.S. border.

Fresh Mark in Salem told agents Lorenzo worked for the company under the name Omar Diaz, with a Social Security card and California identification corresponding to that name.

A manager at Fresh Mark did not return a call from The Vindicator.

The ICE agent testified in an affidavit that those who immigrate without documents use the birth certificates and Social Security numbers of U.S. citizens to obtain identification.

The affidavit claims probable cause to charge Lorenzo with false claim to U.S. citizenship and aggravated identity theft.

A federal magistrate turned his case over to a grand jury Thursday.