ERO Philadelphia removes Brazilian citizen wanted for homicide

PHILADELPHIA — Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia removed Adilson Rodrigues Dos Santos, a citizen of Brazil with a final order of removal, to Brazil on May 31. Rodrigues is a foreign fugitive wanted by law enforcement authorities in Brazil to serve a conviction for homicide.

“Fugitives such as Adilson Rodrigues Dos Santos must be aware that ERO, acting within the laws and policies of the United States government, is actively searching for them,” said ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Cammilla Wamsley. “We take great pride in safeguarding the American public from those who pose a significant threat to our nation.”

On July 28, 2017, a court in Brazil convicted Rodrigues of homicide and sentenced him to incarceration for 16 years and six months.

The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended Rodrigues near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, for entering the United States without admission or parole by an immigration official on April 6, 2019. On the same date, U.S. Border Patrol issued him a notice to appear charging inadmissibility.

Rodrigues was transferred to ERO El Paso on April 8, 2019, enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program, issued an order of release on recognizance, and released from custody.

Rodrigues reported to ERO Philadelphia to enroll in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program on April 26, 2019.

On July 10, 2019, a court in Brazil issued an arrest warrant for Rodrigues.

ERO Philadelphia terminated Rodrigues from Intensive Supervision Appearance Program as a pre-order absconder on Oct. 25, 2019. He was arrested on Oct. 27, 2023, by ERO Newark New Jersey during a targeted enforcement action. On the same date, ERO Newark issued him a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge and transferred him to ERO Philadelphia at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, where he remained pending removal proceedings.

A Department of Justice immigration judge in Elizabeth, New Jersey, ordered Rodrigues removed from the United States to Brazil. He waived his right to appeal.

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.

ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 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.