ERO Dallas arrests El Salvadorian national security threat and alleged “Dynamite Lawyer”

LUBBOCK, Texas — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office arrested Ricardo Ernesto Nunez, an unlawfully present 60-year-old citizen of El Salvador, Nov. 29.

“I commend the officers of ERO Dallas who worked with our federal partners to locate and apprehend Mr. Nunez,” said ERO Dallas Field Office Director Marcos Charles. “This is yet another example of intelligence-led law enforcement targeting those who pose the greatest threat to public safety.”

Nunez illegally entered the United States December 2022 in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act near Eagle Pass, Texas. His entry is his third attempt to enter the U.S., after having been previously turned away twice before pursuant to Title 42 Expulsions.

Intelligence-based leads prompted ERO to become aware of Nunez’s presence in the U.S. Additionally, further research revealed Nunez, an attorney in El Salvador, served prison time in El Salvador in the 1990’s after allegedly planning terrorist attacks using homemade explosives. This incident gave him the nickname “El Abogado Dinamita” – “The Dynamite Lawyer”.

Members of an ERO Dallas at-large team apprehended Nunez without incident. ERO Dallas served Nunez with a Notice to Appear document, ordering him to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge. Nunez remains in ERO custody awaiting immigration 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 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (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.

ERO is one of ICE’s three operational directorates and 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.

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

Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ERODallas