ERO Baltimore arrests Mexican national convicted of sexual abuse of Maryland minor

BALTIMORE — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore apprehended an undocumented noncitizen convicted of sex crimes against a Maryland minor. Deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Fugitive Operations Team apprehended the 37-year-old Mexican national Nov. 3 in Joppa.

The undocumented noncitizen unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without being inspected, admitted or paroled by an immigration official.

Baltimore police arrested and charged the Mexican national with driving on the highway without a license in April 2012. The District Court for Baltimore City convicted the noncitizen in September 2012 of driving on the highway without a license and assessed a fine of $165.

BPD arrested the Mexican national again in September 2013 and charged him with driving on the highway without a license. Later that month, the District Court for Baltimore City convicted the Mexican national of driving on the highway without a license and sentenced him to 60 days in jail.

In July 2018, the District Court of Baltimore City issued an arrest warrant for the Mexican national for the offenses of rape first degree, rape second degree, sex abuse of a minor: house/family, assault first degree, assault second degree, sex offense second degree, sex offense third degree, sex offense fourth degree, and sexual contact.

ERO Charlotte arrested the noncitizen in October 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and served him a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge. ERO Charlotte transferred the Mexican national to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office in Charlotte pursuant to an extradition request by the District Court of Maryland. ERO Charlotte lodged an immigration detainer on the noncitizen.

In December 2018, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office extradited the Mexican national to Baltimore.

The 8th Circuit Court for Baltimore City convicted the undocumented noncitizen of sex abuse minor: house/family in August 2021 and sentenced him to 25 years of confinement followed by five years of supervised probation. The court suspended 22 years and 4 months of the Mexican national’s sentence. The remaining charges were dismissed.

The Baltimore City Jail transferred custody of the Mexican national to ERO Baltimore in August 2021. Later that day, ERO Baltimore transferred him to ERO Washington, D.C. due to lack of detention space.

In September 2021, a Department of Justice immigration judge in Arlington, Virginia, ordered the noncitizen removed to Mexico. In October 2018, ERO Washington, D.C. removed him from the United States to Mexico via ICE Air Operations.

The undocumented noncitizen unlawfully reentered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without being inspected, admitted or paroled by an immigration official.

The Baltimore County Police Department issued the Mexican national a citation for trespassing on posted property Sept. 15, 2023. The arresting officer conducted a want/warrant check on the noncitizen, which returned positive. The officer contacted the Law Enforcement Support Center, which referred the case to ERO Baltimore for further investigation.

The District Court for Baltimore County in Towson issued a stet for the charge of trespass - posted property Nov. 2, 2023.

Deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Fugitive Operations Team arrested the noncitizen Nov. 3, 2023, in Joppa and served him a notice of intent/decision to reinstate his prior removal order.

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 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (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.