ERO Washington, D.C. removes fugitive wanted by Mexican authorities for rape

WASHINGTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. removed a 42-year-old Mexican fugitive wanted by authorities in his home country for rape. Deportation officers removed Alejandro Piedras-Padilla from the United States to Mexico July 17.

“Alejandro Piedras-Padilla attempted to flee justice in Mexico by hiding out in Virginia,” said ERO Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Liana J. Castano. “He posed a significant threat to the residents of our communities. We will not allow our Washington, D.C. and Virginia neighborhoods to become safe havens for the world’s criminal elements. ERO Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing the most egregious noncitizen offenders.”

U.S. Border Patrol arrested Piedras July 30, 2008, after he unlawfully entered the United States near Laredo, Texas. USBP granted him a voluntary return to Mexico. He unlawfully reentered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official.

On Oct. 9, 2023, ERO Washington, D.C. lodged an immigration detainer against Piedras with the Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center in Manassas, Virginia. ERO Washington, D.C. lodged the immigration detainer following Piedras’ arrest by Virginia’s Prince William County Police Department on charges that were later dismissed by the Prince William County Circuit Court.

The Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center transferred custody of Piedras to ERO Washington May 30 pursuant to the immigration detainer. Later that day, ERO Washington issued Piedras a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge.

On June 11, 2024, a DOJ immigration judge in Annandale, Virginia, ordered Piedras removed from the United States to Mexico.

Mexican authorities are seeking custody of Piedras for rape charges.

Deportation officers removed Alejandro Piedras-Padilla from the United States to Mexico July 17 and turned him over to Mexican authorities.

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 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.

As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, ERO lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement. An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody. Detainers request that state or local law enforcement agencies maintain custody of the noncitizen for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law.

Detainers are critical public safety tools 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, 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. Because 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.

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.

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.

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.