ERO Baltimore arrests Salvadoran national convicted locally of accessory to murder, weapons charges

BALTIMORE — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore arrested a Salvadoran national convicted of accessory to murder and weapons charges in Baltimore. Deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Fugitive Operations Team apprehended the 28-year-old Salvadoran noncitizen April 20 at his residence in Reisterstown.

“This is exactly the type of dangerous noncitizen offender that we need to keep off of our streets,” said ERO Baltimore acting Field Office Director Matthew Elliston. “Unfortunately two of our local jurisdictions refused to honor our requests and released him from custody. The men and women of ERO Baltimore will continue to prioritize the safety of our Maryland communities by aggressively apprehending and removing the most egregious threats to the public.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol agents apprehended the Salvadoran national March 10, 2013, after he unlawfully entered the United States near Encino, Texas, without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official. Officials served him with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge and transferred him to ERO Harlingen’s custody.

ERO Harlingen transferred him to the Office of Refugee Resettlement at Youth for Tomorrow in Bristow, Virginia, March 12, 2013.

On April 29, 2013, 2014, the Office of Refugee Resettlement reunified him with his uncle, who resided in Dundalk, Maryland.

The Baltimore County Police Department arrested the Salvadoran noncitizen Nov. 18, 2015, and charged him for theft less than $100.

The Baltimore Police Department arrested him Feb. 7, 2016, and charged him with attempted first-degree murder, con-attempted first-degree murder, attempted second degree murder, assault first degree, assault second degree, firearm use/felony violent crime, handgun on person, possession of firearm minor, conspiracy first degree murder, con-assault first degree, murder first degree, and accessory after the fact murder 1st.

ERO Baltimore lodged an immigration detainer against the Salvadoran national with Baltimore City Central Booking in Baltimore Feb. 8, 2016. However, Baltimore City Central Booking refused to honor ERO Baltimore’s immigration detainer and released the noncitizen from custody on an unknown date.

On April 13, 2017, Baltimore City’s Eighth Circuit Court convicted the Salvadoran noncitizen of accessory after the fact murder 1st and sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment. The remaining charges were dismissed.

On Aug. 21, 2019, the District Court for Washington County in Hagerstown convicted the noncitizen of dangerous weapon-conceal and sentenced him to one year of imprisonment. The conviction occurred while in the custody of the Maryland Correctional Training Center.

The Maryland Correctional Training Center transferred the Salvadoran national to Baltimore County Police Department’s custody Aug. 21, 2023, for an open warrant for theft less than $100. Later that day, ERO Baltimore lodged an immigration detainer against him with the Baltimore County Detention Center in Towson.

The Baltimore County Detention Center refused to honor ERO Baltimore’s immigration detainer and released the noncitizen from custody on an unknown date.

Deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Fugitive Operations Team apprehended the Salvadoran noncitizen April 20 at his residence in Reisterstown. He will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of removal proceedings.

As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, ERO lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement. An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody. Detainers request that state or local law enforcement agencies maintain custody of the noncitizen for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law.

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 (EOIR). EOIR is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security 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.

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.

Learn more about ERO Baltimore’s mission to increase public safety in our Maryland communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBaltimore.