ERO New Orleans arrests Honduran foreign fugitive, wanted for murder, in Alabama

NEW ORLEANS — On March 1, in Mobile, Alabama, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New Orleans arrested a Honduran foreign fugitive wanted for murder in his home country.

At an unknown date and location, the Honduran national entered the United States without inspection, admission or parole by an immigration official. On Dec. 21, 2013, and on Oct. 17, 2016, he was arrested in Bossier City on local offenses.

On July 4, 2018, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested him near Laredo, Texas. Agents issued him a notice and order of expedited removal for illegal entry.

On July 9, 2018, a U.S. magistrate for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas convicted him of illegal entry and sentenced him to six days of imprisonment. ERO Harlingen removed him from the United States on July 20, 2018.

On August 10, 2018, Juzgado de Letras de la Seccion Judicial de Choluteca in Honduras issued an arrest warrant, charging the Honduran citizen with murder.

On an unknown date, he reentered the United States at an unknown location without being admitted or paroled by an immigration officer.

On Feb. 25, 2024, the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office arrested the noncitizen for driving while intoxicated, being an unlicensed driver, and possessing an expired vehicle registration. The next day, the ERO New Orleans Criminal Apprehension Program identified him as a previously removed noncitizen wanted for murder in Honduras.

The unlawfully present Honduran national will remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) custody pending an upcoming hearing before an immigration judge with the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. ERO New Orleans will seek 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 ERO New Orleans’s mission to preserve public safety on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ERONewOrleans.

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