ERO Washington, D.C. arrests Salvadoran gang member charged with weapons, drug crimes in Virginia

FAIRFAX, Va. — Officers with Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C.’s Special Response Team arrested Carlos Grande-Chavez on Sept. 12 in Fairfax, Virginia. Grande-Chavez, an unlawfully present 41-year-old Salvadoran gang member charged with weapons and drug crimes in Virginia, is a documented member of MS-13 who had been removed from the U.S. on two previous occasions.

“Carlos Grande-Chavez has blatantly and repeatedly violated numerous U.S. laws,” said Field Office Director Liana J. Castano of ERO Washington, D.C. “His behavior in this country, along with his association with a notorious street gang, make him a significant threat to the residents of our Virginia communities. ERO Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen threats to our neighborhoods.”

U.S. Border Patrol arrested Grande on five separate occasions in January 2001 after he unlawfully entered the United States. Grande claimed to be a Mexican national on each occasion and was voluntarily returned to Mexico following each encounter.

Grande later unlawfully re-entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without admission, inspection or parole by a U.S. immigration official.

The Fairfax County General District Court convicted Grande Sept. 10, 2003, of tampering with a vehicle. The court sentenced Grande to 12 months in prison.

The Fairfax County Adult Detention Center transferred custody of Grande to ERO Washington, D.C. on Oct. 21, 2003. ERO Washington served Grande with a notice of intent to issue final administrative removal order.

ERO removed Grande from the United States to El Salvador March 12, 2004.

Grande again unlawfully re-entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without admission, inspection or parole by a U.S. immigration official.

The ICE Office of Investigations arrested Grande June 27, 2005, during the execution of a search warrant in Washington, D.C. Later that day, the Office of Investigations served Grande an intent to reinstate prior removal order.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virgina convicted Grande on July 1, 2005, of unlawfully re-entering the United States after removal.

ERO again removed Grande from the United States to El Salvador on March 3, 2006.

Grande unlawfully re-entered the United States again on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without admission, inspection or parole by a U.S. immigration official.

ERO Washington, D.C. arrested Grande on Sept. 16, 2011, in Arlington, Virginia, and served him with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge.

A Department of Justice immigration judge in Arlington, Virginia, released Grande on an immigration bond on Oct. 31, 2011.

Grande was arrested and convicted in Loudon and Fairfax Counties for driving while intoxicated between Aug. 24, 2013, and Feb. 17, 2016. He was sentenced to serve a total of seven months in prison.

The Fairfax County Adult Detention Center transferred custody of Grande to ERO Washington, D.C. Feb. 19, 2016, pursuant to an immigration detainer.

A Department of Justice immigration judge in Arlington, Virginia, released Grande on July 15, 2016, on an immigration bond.

Authorities in Fairfax and Arlington Counties arrested Grande on four separate occasions between April 18, 2024, and Aug. 2, 2024, and charged him with drug possession, drug possession with intent to distribute, unlawful firearms possession, possessing a firearm with schedule I/II drugs, removing or altering a firearm serial number, carrying a concealed weapon, and failure to appear.

ERO Washington, D.C. lodged immigration detainers against Grande with Arlington and Fairfax Counties after each apprehension.

Authorities ignored the ERO immigration detainer on each occasion and released Grande back into the community.

Officers from ERO Washington, D.C.’s Special Response Team arrested Grande Sept. 12, 2024, in Fairfax, Virginia, and he remains in ERO custody.

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, the 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.

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 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.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROWashington.