ERO Salt Lake City removes Mexican fugitive wanted for robbery
ERO Salt Lake City was assisted by San Diego SRT.
LAS VEGAS — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Salt Lake City field office removed an unlawfully present foreign fugitive from the United States who was wanted in Mexico for robbery on March 7.
Authorities transported Jhonathan Medina Garcia, 32, by ground from Las Vegas to the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, where members of ERO San Diego's Special Response Team assisted in the removal. Upon arrival at the port, officials turned Medina over to the proper authorities.
“The U.S. provides no safe haven to foreign fugitives and ICE arrests and removes these individuals to face justice in their home countries,” said Salt Lake City Field Office Director Michael Bernacke.
Medina was previously removed to Mexico following criminal convictions for transport of a controlled substance in 2014. ERO Salt Lake City officers most recently encountered Medina at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on June 22, 2022. ERO officers served him with a Notice to Action for possible prosecution pursuant to Title 8 USC 1326(a).
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 U.S. 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. ERO officers carry out the removal decisions made by the federal immigration judges.
In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 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.
ERO, a directorate of ICE, 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, who have violated our nation's immigration laws, including those who illegally re-enter 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 for crimes committed abroad at-large in the U.S. ERO manages all aspects of the immigration enforcement process, including identification and arrest, detention, bond management, supervised release, transportation, and removal. Additionally, ERO repatriates noncitizens ordered removed from the U.S. to more than 150 countries worldwide.
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 Salt Lake City’s mission to preserve public safety on Twitter @EROSaltLakeCity
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