ERO Los Angeles arrests a man on ICE’s 10 most wanted fugitives list in California
LOS ANGELES — Officers with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, commonly known as ICE and ERO respectively, arrested a Mexican national indicted in Portland, Maine, for the offenses of criminal restraint, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual conduct, criminal sexual contact and endangering sexual conduct in Santa Ana, California on Dec. 9.
ERO Los Angeles Officers apprehended Luciano Trejo-Dominguez, 31, during a targeted enforcement operation in the city of Santa Ana, California. A Newark, New Jersey immigration judge ordered Trejo, one of ICE’s 10 most wanted fugitives, removed on October 5, 2021.
Trejo is also the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the sheriff’s office in Bridgeton, New Jersey, for failure to appear related to an aggravated sexual assault offense involving a victim 13 to 15 years old. When approached by ERO officers near his home, Trejo attempted to flee and evade arrest, but officers subdued him and took him into custody.
“Despite a judge’s lawful order for his removal and access to due process, this individual believed he could simply change his location and ignore the order,” said Thomas P. Giles, field office director of ERO Los Angeles. “Ultimately becoming one of ERO’s top 10 most wanted fugitives, and thanks to the professional men and women of the Los Angeles ERO team, he is now behind bars.”
Trejo entered the U.S. at an unknown date, time and location without being admitted or paroled by an immigration officer. Trejo originally came to ERO’s attention in Aug. 2018, while he was incarcerated for contempt of court in the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, Maine.
ERO encountered Trejo again in 2019 while he was in the Vineland Police Department’s custody for assault. Following his release from the Vineland Police Department’s custody, he was taken into ICE custody. He was later granted an immigration bond and released from ICE custody. An immigration detainer was issued for Trejo again Aug. 13, 2019, following his arrest the previous day by Vineland Police Department for aggravated sexual assault. That detainer was not honored.
Trejo was returned to his home country of Mexico Dec. 9.
ICE’s ERO directorate upholds U.S. immigration law at, within and beyond our borders. ERO operations target public safety threats, such as convicted criminal noncitizens and gang members, as well as individuals who have otherwise violated our nation's immigration laws, including those who illegally reentered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges. ERO deportation officers assigned to Interpol also assist in targeting foreign fugitives or Fugitive Arrest and Removal cases who are wanted for crimes committed abroad and who are now at-large in the United States. ERO manages all aspects of the immigration enforcement process, including identification and arrest, detention, bond management, supervised release, as well as transportation and removal. In addition, ERO repatriates noncitizens ordered removed from the U.S. to more than 170 countries around the world.
If you have information about foreign fugitives, contact ICE by calling the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. You may also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form.