ERO Baltimore apprehends previously removed Salvadoran national convicted of sex crime in Virginia
BALTIMORE — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore arrested an undocumented noncitizen from El Salvador who had previously been removed from the United States following his conviction for a sex crime in Virginia. Deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Fugitive Operations Team apprehended the 48-year-old Salvadoran national Aug. 23 at his residence in Clinton.
The unlawfully present Salvadoran citizen was convicted in January 2014 of sexual battery of a victim under 13 years old.
“This Salvadoran national has already proven to be a threat to society, which is why ERO previously removed him from the United States,” said ERO Baltimore acting Field Office Director Darius Reeves. “He reentered the country unlawfully, so we will remove him again. ERO Baltimore will not allow our Maryland communities to become safe havens for unlawfully present sexual predators, especially those who pose a threat to our children.”
The Salvadoran national originally entered the United States lawfully in March 1989 at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner, Louisiana.
The Arlington Police Department in Arlington, Virginia, arrested the Salvadoran citizen in November 1995 for the offense of larceny. In December 1995, the Arlington General District Court convicted him for the offense and sentenced him to one year of confinement with all days suspended.
In August 2006, the Alexandria Police Department in Alexandria, Virginia, arrested the Salvadoran citizen for the offense of assault and battery-family member, abduction and kidnapping, but the Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court dismissed the charges in September 2006.
The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office arrested the Salvadoran national in December 2006 for the offense of abduction and kidnapping. However, the Arlington Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court dismissed the charges in January 2007.
The Alexandria Police Department arrested the noncitizen in November 2013 for the offense of aggravated sexual battery of a victim under 13 years old. In January 2014, the Alexandria Circuit Court convicted him of the offense and sentenced him to 10 years of confinement with all but 15 months suspended.
ERO Washington, D.C. lodged an immigration detainer against the Salvadoran national with the Alexandria City Jail in January 2014. In December 2014, deportation officers with ERO Washington, D.C.’s Criminal Apprehension Program arrested the noncitizen at the Alexandria City Jail.
A Department of Justice immigration judge in Annandale, Virginia, ordered the noncitizen removed to El Salvador in January 2015, and ERO removed him to El Salvador later that month.
On an unknown date and at an unknown location, the Salvadoran national reentered the United States unlawfully.
ERO Baltimore arrested the noncitizen Aug. 23 and issued him a notice of intent/decision to reinstate prior order. The noncitizen will remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody pending his removal from the United States.
Regardless of nationality, ICE makes custody determinations on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with U.S. law and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy, considering the circumstances of each case. ICE officers make decisions on associated enforcement actions and apply prosecutorial discretion in a responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement professionals and in a way that best protects the communities they serve.
ERO is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that protects the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our immigration laws.
Entering the United States without authorization is a violation of federal law, and those who do so many be subject to administrative arrest, and in some cases, criminal prosecution.
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.
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