ERO Boston arrests MS-13 gang member wanted in El Salvador for murder

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston apprehended an unlawfully present Salvadoran fugitive and MS-13 gang member wanted for homicide in El Salvador. Deportation officers from ERO Boston apprehended the 44-year-old foreign fugitive in Foxboro Feb. 19.

“This unlawfully present fugitive is a member of a violent transnational criminal organization who is wanted for murder in his home country,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “The people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are safer today now that this fugitive criminal has been arrested. ERO Boston continues to help make our communities safer by our unwavering commitment to protecting public safety every day.”

In March 2001, the Salvadoran national unlawfully entered the United States at the Canadian border in New York. He was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol and served with a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

In March 2002 the DOJ immigration judge ordered the Salvadoran national removed from the United States in absentia; ERO Phoenix removed him in January 2007.

In May 2010, he reentered the United States. USBP arrested him in Falfurrias, Texas, and served him with a notice of reinstatement of his previous final removal order.

ERO San Antonio removed the Salvadoran citizen from the United States a second time in July 2010.

After unlawfully entering the United States a third time, he was again arrested by USBP in Edinburg, Texas, in September 2012. USBP again reinstated his prior removal order.

ERO Harlingen removed him from the United States in October 2012.

The unlawfully present foreign fugitive unlawfully entered the United States a fourth time on an unknown date at an unknown location without being inspected or admitted by an immigration official.

After becoming aware of his presence in Massachusetts, deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested him without incident Feb. 19 in Foxboro. The Salvadoran national will remain in ICE custody pending his removal from the United States.

In fiscal year 2023, ERO made 170,590 administrative arrests, a 19.5% increase over the previous year. ERO arrested 73,822 noncitizens with a criminal history; those arrested had an average of four charges and convictions per individual, including more than 33,209 charges or convictions for assault, 7,520 for weapons offenses, 1,713 for homicide-related offenses, and 1,615 for kidnapping. Removals also included 3,406 known or suspected gang members, 139 known or suspected terrorists, seven human rights violators, and 108 foreign fugitives wanted by their governments for crimes including homicide, rape, terrorism and kidnapping. Also in fiscal year 2023, ERO conducted 142,580 removals to more than 170 countries worldwide.

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 the 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.

Members of the public can report crime and suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form.

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

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