ERO El Paso removes fugitive wanted in El Salvador back to his home country

EL PASO, Texas — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) El Paso deportation officers removed an unlawfully present El Salvadoran national Dec. 15 wanted in his home country for aggravated extortion.

Herson Bladimir Molina-Linares, 30, who had a final order of removal, was flown to El Salvador on a charter flight operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Air Operations Unit. ERO officers turned custody of Molina-Linares over to local authorities at the Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador.

On Oct. 25, Molina-Linares illegally entered the United States at Santa Teresa, New Mexico, where U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered him and arrested him. The following day, agents served Molina-Linares with a Notice and Order of Expedited Removal.

He was transferred to ICE custody Nov. 15 and was detained at the Otero County Processing Center until his removal from the United States Dec. 15.

“ERO El Paso’s cooperation with foreign authorities has proven beneficial time and time again not only to assure that dangerous individuals attempting to dodge justice are removed from our country, but also to make our communities safer," said ERO El Paso Field Office Director Mary De Anda-Ybarra. “Our message is this: the United States is not a safe haven for international fugitives seeking to avoid the law in their home country.”

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 crime and suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form.

For more updates on noncitizens being removed from the community in the interest of public safety, follow ERO El Paso on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EROElPaso.