ERO New Orleans apprehends convicted felon
NEW ORLEANS — A Mexican national was arrested during a targeted enforcement operation after Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New Orleans received a tip on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tip Line Dec. 19, 2023, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Mexican citizen has previous felony convictions for forgery, fraud, larceny, residential burglary, theft and fleeing police. He has been removed from the United States four times. The individual is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings to Mexico.
“This is another example of the daily work done by ERO New Orleans officers to locate, arrest and remove criminals from our local communities,” said ERO New Orleans Field Office Director Mellissa Harper. “This noncitizen criminal victimized people in our local communities for years and repeatedly violated the immigration laws of our country. Blatant disregard for U.S. criminal and immigration laws cannot be tolerated, and ERO New Orleans encourages those with information related to unlawful activity by noncitizens to call the ICE Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.”
Entering the United States without authorization is a violation of federal law. When ICE arrests a noncitizen who has entered the country illegally, the individual undergoes a custody review process to determine whether detention is necessary or they should be released with conditions. As with any noncitizen in the United States without lawful status, ICE officers make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis to focus on the greatest threats to homeland security in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officers.
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.
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