ERO arrests Mexican national convicted of manslaughter

DURHAM, N.C. — Enforcement and Removal Operations Cary apprehended Carlos Heriberto Mendoza-Martinez, a 31-year‐old unlawfully present and previously removed Mexican national in Durham on July 17. Martinez was taken into custody without incident.

On May 12, 2010, Martinez was convicted of manslaughter. On May 22, 2013, an immigration judge ordered him removed from the United States to Mexico. On July 11, 2013, ERO removed him from the United States to Mexico.

In April 2021 and again in June 2024, the Durham police arrested and charged Martinez with assault on a woman and domestic violence. Additionally, police reports indicate Martinez was in possession of a handgun during both assaults. In both arrests, ERO placed detainers with the Durham County Sheriff’s Office for Martinez, but neither detainer was honored.

“Martinez is a violent noncitizen offender who has proven to pose a significant threat to the community,” said ERO Atlanta acting Field Office Director Kristen Sullivan. “We will not let sanctuary policies prevent us from protecting our communities by arresting and removing those who pose an egregious public safety threat.”

Martinez is a documented member of the Norteños Latin Street Gang. He is currently in ICE custody and pending prosecution in the Middle District of North Carolina.

Detainers are critical public safety tools because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity. Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved — ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, removable noncitizens and the public — by allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community. Because detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will reoffend. Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at-large.

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. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security 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.

Members of the public can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the ICE online tip form.

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.

For more news and information on how ERO Atlanta carries out its immigration enforcement mission in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROAtlanta.