ERO Detroit removes Mexican national wanted on homicide charges

DETROIT — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit deportation officers removed a Mexican national who is wanted in his home country on charges for homicide, robbery, criminal association and crimes against public officials.

Joaquin Villalobos Navarro, 54, was turned over to Mexican authorities at the border in Brownsville, Texas, Feb. 28.

“These charges speak for themselves from homicide to crimes against public officials,” said ERO Detroit Field Office Director Robert Lynch. “Needless to say, this is not someone coming to the United States for a better life; they are coming here to evade justice. What they didn’t count on was ERO Detroit’s dedication to public safety and our mission to apprehend these foreign fugitives and return them to their home countries.”

On Feb. 18, 1994, a judge in Coahuila, Mexico, issued a warrant for Villalobos Navarro for homicide, robbery, property damage, criminal association and crimes against public officials.

Villalobos Navarro entered the United States at an unknown date and time without inspection by an immigration official.

On April 1, 2022, ERO was made aware of his fugitive status.

ERO Detroit Fugitive Operations arrested Villalobos Navarro Oct. 17, 2023, in Bangor, Michigan, during operational surveillance.

On the same date, ERO Detroit served him a notice to appear charging inadmissibility as a noncitizen present in the United States without being admitted or paroled.

On Dec. 14, 2023, an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in Detroit ordered him removed from the United States to Mexico.

In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories; this group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions. These included 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.

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.

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

Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ERODetroit.