ERO Houston removes unlawfully present human smuggler wanted in Mexico for domestic violence

HOUSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston, with assistance from ERO Mexico and the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force, removed Jose De La Cruz Segura-Rojas, a 41-year-old unlawfully present Mexican national, from the United States on Feb. 8. Segura-Rojas is wanted in Mexico for domestic violence.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation officers transported Segura-Rojas from the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe to the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in Laredo. Upon arrival, he was transferred into the custody of Mexican law enforcement authorities.

“Today’s removal of this repeat immigration offender and convicted human smuggler is the result of outstanding teamwork between ERO Houston and our federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement partners,” said ERO Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford. “By working together, we have removed a dangerous foreign fugitive from the country and made sure that he stands trial for the violent criminal offense that he is alleged to have committed in Mexico.”

Segura-Rojas illegally entered the United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location. On Aug. 29, 2021, U.S. Border Patrol arrested him near Freer and charged him with conspiracy to transport undocumented noncitizens within the United States. On Jan. 28, 2022, he was convicted of those charges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

On Dec. 7, 2022, the Federal Correctional Institution in Three Rivers released Segura-Rojas into ERO Houston custody and he was administratively ordered removed from the United States. On Dec. 13, 2022, immigration officers from ERO Houston removed him to Mexico.

Segura-Rojas illegally reentered the United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location. On March 25, 2023, U.S. Border Patrol arrested him near Laredo and charged him with illegal reentry. On Aug. 30, 2023, he was convicted of illegal reentry in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison. On Jan. 31, 2024, the Federal Correctional Institution in Beaumont released Segura-Rojas into ERO Houston custody. ERO Houston removed him to Mexico on Feb. 8.

If you have information about foreign fugitives, contact ICE by calling the ICE Tip Line at 866-347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. You can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form.

For more news and information on how ERO Houston carries out its immigration enforcement mission in Southeast Texas follow us on Twitter @EROHouston.

The SAFE Program is a fugitive enforcement and information sharing partnership that was created in 2012 to better use subject information derived from local in-country investigative resources and leads to locate, apprehend, detain and remove individuals residing in the United States illegally who were subject to foreign arrest warrants. The SAFE Program operates under the respective host nation’s AAR, which constructs a SAFE task force composed of relevant foreign law enforcement agencies, immigration authorities, attorneys general, and national identification repositories — as well as other regional, national, state and local government agencies. The managing AAR ensures that each task force member complies with SAFE policies and standards consistent with the program’s standard operating procedures. Once established, the AAR-led SAFE task force generates new leads and vets existing SAFE fugitive referrals for ERO action.

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.

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