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October 17, 2023Washington, DC, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

ERO Washington, D.C. apprehends noncitizen charged with rape, kidnapping, assault

WASHINGTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Washington, D.C. arrested an undocumented noncitizen charged with felony rape by force, threat, or intimidation; abduction by force; and assault on a family member. Deportation officers from ERO Washington, D.C.’s Mobile Criminal Apprehension Team arrested the Honduran national on Oct. 12 in Herndon, Virginia.

“This undocumented Honduran national has proven to be a detriment to our community and a threat to Virginia residents,” said ERO Washington D.C. Field Office Director Russell Hott, “ERO Washington remains committed to apprehending criminals who are released back into the local population when a detainer is not honored. We will not allow such noncitizen offenders to roam free and victimize innocent people.”

The undocumented noncitizen unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without being inspected or admitted by an immigration official.

U.S. Border Patrol arrested the Honduran national near Roma, Texas, in June 2021, issuing him a notice to appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge.

Officers from the Herndon Police Department in Herndon, Virginia arrested the noncitizen on July 20, 2023, charging him with felony rape by force, threat, or intimidation; abduction by force; and assault on a family member.

Later that day, ERO Washington, D.C. issued an immigration detainer on the Honduran national with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (FFXADC) in Fairfax, Virginia.

On Aug. 17, 2023, ERO Washington, D.C. determined that FFXADC released the noncitizen without notifying ERO.

Deportation officers from ERO Washington, D.C. arrested the undocumented Honduran national on Oct. 12, 2023, and served him with a notice to appear before a DOJ immigration judge.

The noncitizen will remain in the custody of ERO Washington, D.C. pending the outcome of his removal proceedings.

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 (EOIR). EOIR is a separate entity from DHS and 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.

As one of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) 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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