ICE Target Operation Arrests 31 Criminal Aliens

As part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, 31 convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and immigration violators were arrested during a two-day operation in the greater Chicago area.

This operation concluded Sunday, November 4, 2012, and was conducted by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations teams in Chicago.

Of the 31 arrested, 26 had prior convictions for crimes such as: aggravated assault, weapons offenses, domestic battery, aggravated drunken driving, burglary and drugs. Thirteen of the 31 were immigration fugitives who had been previously ordered to leave the country but failed to depart; the majority of these also had criminal convictions. Six of those arrested had been previously removed from the country and illegally re-entered the United States, which is a felony.

Following is the nationality breakdown of the 31 men arrested: Mexico (22), Nigeria (2), Germany (1), Guatemala (1), Honduras (1), Poland (1), Tajikistan (1), Thailand (1) and Venezuela (1). The arrests occurred in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, including Addison, Cicero, Bolingbrook and Waukegan.

Following are summaries of two individuals arrested during this operation:

·                             A 51-year-old Mexican national has prior criminal convictions for aggravated assault on a police officer, illegally re-entering the United States after being deported, and domestic battery. He was arrested Nov. 3 at his Naperville residence and remains in ICE custody pending removal to Mexico.

·                             A 64-year-old German national has prior criminal convictions for possessing a firearm silencer and theft. He is also an immigration fugitive with an outstanding deportation order. He was arrested Nov. 4 at his Chicago residence and remains in ICE custody pending removal to Germany.

"ERO officers will continue to work tirelessly to improve the public safety in the Chicago area by locating, apprehending and removing at-large criminal aliens and repeat immigration violators who have blatantly disregarded the immigration laws," said Ricardo Wong, field office director for ERO Chicago. "With targeted enforcement operations, we are focusing our resources on the most egregious offenders while improving public safety for law-abiding residents in our communities."

This enforcement action was spearheaded by ICE's National Fugitive Operations Program, which is responsible for investigating, locating, arresting and removing at-large criminal aliens and immigration fugitives.

ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ICE also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.

Salvadoran Fugitives Wanted for Murder and Weapons Trafficking Deported by ICE

Two Salvadoran criminal fugitives recently captured in northern California – one wanted for murder, the other for weapons trafficking – were handed over to authorities in their native country Wednesday, October 10, 2012, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the latest results of stepped up collaborative efforts to locate Salvadoran criminal fugitives in the U.S. and return them to El Salvador to face justice.

Josue Alfredo Melendez-Martinez, 34, and Manuel De Jesus Serpas Hernandez, 34, were repatriated to El Salvador on board a charter flight coordinated by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Air Operations (IAO) Unit. Upon arrival, ERO officers turned the suspects over to awaiting officials from the El Salvadoran Civilian National Police (PNC). The two former fugitives were both located following encounters with local law enforcement authorities in northern California.

Melendez-Martinez is wanted on a criminal warrant issued in 2006 in El Salvador for trafficking and possession of firearms. The documented member of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS 13) gang is also facing charges in his native country for his alleged involvement in the killing of a police officer. ERO took Melendez-Martinez into custody in August 2012 after receiving a lead from Stanislaus County probation officers. He was detained by ERO and ordered deported by an immigration judge Aug. 28.

The second fugitive, Serpas Hernandez, is the subject of a Salvadoran criminal warrant charging him with murder and "serious wounding." According to an Interpol Red Notice, the suspect allegedly fatally shot his former girlfriend and seriously wounded her friend following an argument in Usulutan, El Salvador, in 1999.

In December 2011, an ERO Los Angeles officer who had been searching for Serpas Hernandez for more than a year discovered he was incarcerated at the San Francisco County Jail on local charges. ERO lodged an immigration hold on Serpas Hernandez and he came into ICE custody in March 2012 after serving his sentence for child endangerment. On Aug. 21, an immigration judge ordered Serpas Hernandez deported, paving the way for his repatriation to El Salvador.

"Criminals who seek to escape responsibility for their actions by fleeing to the United States will find no sanctuary in our communities," said Gary Mead, executive associate director of ERO. "As this case makes clear, ICE is working closely with its foreign counterparts to promote public safety and hold criminals accountable – no matter where they commit their crimes."

Officials point to the deportation of the two high-profile criminal fugitives as yet another benefit of the expanded cooperation between ICE and authorities in El Salvador to identify, arrest and repatriate Salvadoran criminal suspects who have fled to the U.S. to avoid prosecution.

ICE officers are working closely with the PNC, the Salvadoran National Interpol Office and Salvadoran Immigration as part of this effort. As a result, in fiscal year 2012, the PNC was able to execute more than 130 criminal arrest warrants immediately upon fugitives' return to El Salvador aboard IAO removal flights. More than a fourth of those arrests involved homicide-related charges.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 500 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.

ERO Deports El Salvador National Wanted for Murder and Extortion

An El Salvador man, wanted in his country for murder, organized crime and extortion, was deported and turned over to officials of El Salvador Friday, Sept. 28 by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Walter Fernando Alfaro-Pineda, 33, was encountered by officers assigned to the Criminal Alien Program (CAP) at the Lee County Jail in Texas, after an Interpol fugitive warrant was revealed following his arrest June 18. The warrant indicated that Alfaro-Pineda was wanted by El Salvadoran officials for murder, organized crime and extortion. Alfaro-Pineda was released into ERO custody June 20, and subsequently ordered removed from the U.S. by an immigration judge Sept. 5.

"This removal is the positive result of ICE's thorough screening of jails and prisons throughout the nation," said David W. Jennings, field office director for ERO Houston. "This case is representative of the hard work and service by ERO and our law enforcement partners to ensure public safety."

ERO is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ERO also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or those criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally reentered the country.

This international fugitive was removed on a charter flight via the ICE ERO Air Operations (IAO) Unit. Since 2006, the IAO Unit, headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., has supported ERO by providing mass air transportation and removal coordination services to ERO field offices nationwide. Staffed by ERO officers, these air charters enable the agency to repatriate large groups of deportees in an efficient, expeditious and humane manner.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 500 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.

Through CAP, ERO seeks to identify potentially deportable aliens incarcerated in jails and prisons throughout the United States. This is accomplished through interviews and reviews of inmates's biographical information. Although ERO initiates removal proceedings against criminal aliens through CAP, these individuals may remain in prison or jail to complete criminal hearings or sentences. Under CAP, ERO uses a risk-based approach to make determinations about the detention and arrest of criminal aliens, with priority given to cases involving individuals deemed to be a security or public safety threat.