ICE deports 2 men from El Salvador wanted for murder

SAN ANTONIO - Two men from El Salvador, both wanted on separate murder charges, were deported on Thursday by officers from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

Jose Antonio Perez-Navarro, 20, and Reyes Menjivar-Serrano, 39, were turned over to El Salvador authorities March 17 amid tight security.

Perez-Navarro is wanted for allegedly committing a triple homicide that occurred on April 19, 2010. According to El Salvador authorities, he shot and killed one man and two women.

Before these killings, ICE ERO had deported Perez-Navarro three times. On May 30, 2010, he was encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol (CBP) in Carrizo Springs, Texas.

On June 23, Perez-Navarro was charged with "re-entry after deportation." Following his Jan. 7 conviction, he was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release. He was transferred to ICE custody Feb. 9 at the Port Isabel Detention Center where he remained until he was again deported March 17.

Menjivar-Serrano is also wanted by El Salvador authorities for homicide. On Aug. 8, 2008, Menjivar-Serrano was working as a security guard for a local supermarket when he shot and killed a woman customer as they argued in the parking lot. On April 5, 2010, Menjivar-Serrano illegally entered the United States near the Hidalgo, Texas, Port of Entry when he was encountered by CBP.

He was transferred to ICE ERO custody on April 9, 2010. On Nov. 22, a federal immigration judge ordered him deported. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denied Menjivar-Serrano's subsequent appeal of his deportation.

"Both of these men were fugitives from justice, and are suspected of cold-blooded slayings," said Pete Del Angel, acting field office director for ICE ERO in San Antonio. "ICE uses our unique immigration enforcement authorities to help protect our communities from criminal aliens who pose a public safety threat, including suspects fleeing justice from their home countries. As these fugitives discovered, they can't outrun the law."

These deportations were coordinated with the following ICE programs: ICE's Office of International Affairs, the ICE Attaché Office in El Salvador, ICE Flight Operations, and the ICE Office of Chief Counsel in San Antonio.