ERO Salt Lake City removes fugitive wanted for homicide in Mexico

SALT LAKE CITY — Officers with Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Salt Lake City removed a fugitive wanted in Mexico for qualified intentional homicide April 5.

Jorge Luis Martinez Frias, 38, is wanted in his native Mexico for homicide. He was transported Aug. 5 from Las Vegas, Nevada, via ground transportation, arriving the same day in San Diego at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Upon arrival at the border, Tellez was turned over to the proper authorities in Mexico.

“Foreign fugitives cannot hide in southern Utah hoping to avoid justice in their home country,” said ERO Salt Lake City Field Office Director Michael Bernacke. “Our officers are gratified to ensure fugitives are removed from our community and escorted back to their home countries.”

Martinez entered the United States at unknown place Oct. 8, 2007, and was discovered living in Utah Dec. 8, 2008, when Washington County Justice Court, Washington County, State of Utah, convicted him for DUI. Martinez was arrested by ERO officers Feb. 7, 2009, upon his release from custody. An immigration judge in Salt Lake City ordered him removed Feb. 12, 2009; he was removed via the El Paso, Texas, port of entry the same day.

Martinez returned to the United States near Sasabe, Arizona, March 7, 2009, without authorization by an immigration official. He was arrested on outstanding warrants and held in the Washington County Jail in Hurricane, Utah. Martinez was removed to Mexico via El Paso, Texas, May 19, 2009. Officers received reliable intelligence Martinez was living in Saint George, Utah, and was subsequently arrested Jan. 30 of this year.

ERO officers make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement professionals and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland.

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. ICE officers carry out the removal decisions made by the federal immigration judges.

In fiscal year 2023, ERO arrested 73,822 noncitizens with criminal histories; this group had 290,178 associated charges and convictions with an average of four per individual. These included 33,209 assaults; 4,390 sex and sexual assaults; 7,520 weapons offenses; 1,713 charges or convictions for homicide; and 1,655 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 or suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing ICE’s online tip form.

Learn more about ERO Salt Lake City, which covers Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Montana, and its mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROSaltLakeCity.