Previously removed gang member wanted in Honduras for drug distribution apprehended by ERO Boston

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested a Honduran national and member of the notorious 18th Street gang who has multiple U.S. convictions and is wanted in his home country for drug distribution charges. Deportation officers from ERO Boston apprehended him after he attempted to cross the United States’ northern border Feb. 1. The Honduran national was previously removed from the United States on six separate occasions.

“This unlawfully present Honduran gang member represents a significant threat to the residents of our New England neighborhoods,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “Not only is he a self-admitted member of a violent criminal enterprise, but he has also repeatedly defied U.S. immigration laws in order to flee some serious charges in his home country. ERO Boston will not allow New England to become a safe haven for the world’s criminals. We will aggressively pursue anyone attempting to use our community as a hideout from justice.”

The Honduran national was removed from the United States in January 2006, twice in June 2013, February 2015, July 2015 and February 2016. He has been convicted of DWI, assault and battery, unauthorized use of a vehicle, illegal entry, disorderly conduct and drug trafficking. During an immigration hearing, he admitted he was affiliated with the Sicarios New Yorkers-XV-18 branch of the 18th Street Gang.

In October 2022, a Honduran court convicted him of drug trafficking charges and sentenced him to four years and six months of incarceration. After he failed to appear to serve his sentence in July 2023, the court issued a warrant for his arrest.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) again arrested the gang member Feb. 1, 2024, after he unlawfully entered the United States near Newport, Vermont, without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a designated immigration official. The U.S. Border Patrol transferred him to ERO Boston’s custody; ERO Boston served him with a notice of intent/decision to reinstate a prior removal order and a warrant of removal/deportation. The unlawfully present Honduran gang member will remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody pending his removal from the United States.

ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is a separate entity from DHS and ICE. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal.

As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

Learn more about ERO Boston’s mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EROBoston.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.gov)