Honduran national wanted for robbery sent home by ERO Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY — Enforcement and Removal Operations Salt Lake City removed an unlawfully present foreign fugitive May 20 who was wanted by law enforcement authorities in his home country of Honduras to face charges of robbery.

Marcio Francisco Martinez-Ventura, 29, departed from Las Vegas, Nevada, and arrived at La Mesa International Airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, via a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Air Operations charter aircraft. Upon arrival, he was handed to the proper authorities in Honduras.

Martinez was encountered by U.S. Border Patrol near Eagle Pass, Texas, March 9, 2021, and was arrested for being illegally present and granted a voluntary return to Mexico. He reentered the United States on an unknown date and location without being inspected by immigration officer.

Officers with ERO issued an immigration detainer with the Washoe County Jail in Carson City, Nevada, April 14, 2023, where Martinez was being held after an arrest for DUI. He was convicted for the DUI April 17, 2023, by the Reno Municipal Court in Reno, Nevada. ERO issued another immigration detainer Jan. 20, 2024, with the Washoe County Jail when Martinez was arrested for a second DUI.

Martinez was transferred to ERO Salt Lake City custody March 22 pursuant to the detainer issued in January. An immigration judge in Las Vegas, Nevada, ordered Martinez removed to Honduras April 11 and officers carried out the order May 20.

Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the 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 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.

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 crime and suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ERO’s mission to preserve public safety on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROSaltLakeCity.