ERO New York City arrests previously deported Salvadoran citizen charged with rape
NEW YORK — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New York City arrested an unlawfully present citizen of El Salvador on May 25. Local authorities recently arraigned him for rape in the first degree by forcible compulsion on a federal criminal arrest warrant.
“ERO New York City will not allow our communities to be a safe haven for individuals who show a wanton disregard for our nation’s immigration and criminal laws,” said ERO New York City Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo. “I am proud of the courageous efforts of our officers to quickly locate this unlawfully present individual and safely take him back into custody.”
On Nov. 19, 2021, the 31-year-old noncitizen was removed from the United States to El Salvador as an aggravated felon after a judge in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson County, Colorado, convicted him of stalking-emotional distress; invasion of privacy-sex gratification; and burglary in the second degree on July 11, 2016.
On an unknown date at an unknown location, the noncitizen illegally reentered the United States without inspection. On April 10, 2023, the Suffolk County Police Department arrested him for rape in the first degree by forcible compulsion. On the same date, he was released on his own recognizance with a temporary order of protection issued against him. Due to local laws, the Suffolk County Jail was precluded from honoring the ICE detainer lodged by ERO New York City on April 11.
On May 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York issued a criminal warrant for illegal reentry after a conviction for commission of an aggravated felony. ERO New York City officers and agents from a regional fugitive task force arrested the man on May 25. He will remain in custody pending 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 ERO to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ERO 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.
Detainers are a critical public safety tool because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity. Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved – ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, removable noncitizens and the public – by allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community. Since detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will reoffend. Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at-large.
Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice and is separate from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal. Once a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge or other lawful means, ICE officers may carry out the removal.
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 and suspicious activity by dialing 866-347-2423 or completing ICE’s online tip form.
Learn more about ERO New York’s mission to preserve public safety on Twitter @ERONewYork.
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